Letter to the editor: A Civil War history lesson

The mainstream media’s attacks on Nikki Haley not recognizing slavery as the reason for the War Between the States is way off base. The reason for the war was both economic and political.

First, the processing of cotton was controlled by New England states. The South had no processing facilities, and the cotton had to be shipped north. The owners of the northern mills bought up the shipping companies and began charging exorbitant fees to ship the cotton north. The growers in the South then contracted with British ships to do the transporting. The northern owners of the processing plants then put pressure on their representatives to pass legislation to outlaw British shipping.

Since the majority of the population resided in the North, they had enough votes in Congress to push this law through. It was at this point the South decided to secede.

The slave issue was used by President Lincoln in hopes of starting a slave uprising in the South. It never happened. The Emancipation Proclamation was only for the states that seceded. States like Maryland that stayed with the Union were permitted to maintain slavery. Lincoln then used the slavery question to inflame the population of the North into supporting the war.

May I suggest all the people who believe that the War Between the States was started and fought over the slavery question take a history lesson on this subject.

John Watson

North Huntingdon