[pchristensen]

You are focused only on the Union’s publicly stated reasoning for starting the war. Take a look into why the South seceded in the first place. Also, look at the decades of conflict over free vs slave states in the western expansion. Slavery was THE issue in the USA in the mid-1800s.

[johnyzee]

I should rephrase my original contention: The war was not started to free slaves. Nor was this on the agenda in the first stages of the war. I believe you would agree with that.

To say that the civil war was 'about' slavery is a non-sequitur, clearly it was a major issue at the time. Though not one the North was ready to go to war over.