Slavery was *a* reason for the civil war. To be specific, it was "slavery,
as an economic issue", not "a moral crusade against slavery". The sad truth is that
neither side had any real moral qualms about the injustice of slavery. Many in the north opposed slavery, not because they had any concern about blacks, but because they didn't want blacks competing against white labor, or occupying any more land west of Texas. Notice that many northern states had laws that flatly prohibited free blacks from living in a given state at all--thus the need for fugitive to emmigrate all the way to Canada.
When Lincoln was seeking the presidential nomination at the republican convention, he told the crowd that he was going to keep the union together, keep slavery legal, and enforce the fugitive slave act, in order to stop blacks from coming north and competing with white labor (which they eventually did)--and the crowd went absolutely wild with approval. He made it clear that he would abolish slavery or keep slavery, whichever preserved the union--it didn't matter to him. Only after a couple years of a stalemate did he write the Emancipation Proclamation. Many foreign newspapers (domestic papers were muzzled) opined that it was a crass move to give the north the appearance of moral superiority, and incite a slave revolt while much of the male population was away at war. It only granted freedom to slaves in areas that the union didn't control, while leaving slavery untouched in areas which the north controlled.
Yes, there were a few people who were against the morality of slavery, but they were a tiny minority. And interestingly enough, many of them had longed for the north to secede from the south--so that northern states would no longer be required to return slaves to the south.
GotZoom said:
If the KKK decided to march with the flag of the United States of America, would that flag now be considered a symbol of racism?
The KKK picked a certain flag. It could have been the flag of the Red Cross, the flag of Mexico, or a flag with Hello Kitty on it.
They just happened to pick the Stars and Bars.
The flag isn't racist...or a sign of racism.
The KKK is.
"If"?
http://www.pointsouth.com/csanet/kkk.htm (scroll to the bottom for pics)