The civil war was fought over a misconception by the south thinking slavery was being abolished. The South, out of fear of economic failure in cotton production, seceded from the union. the north and south had compromised so many times and the south saw no way of compromising their way out of not having slavery once Lincoln was elected. Although the secession started as a misconception, the civil war itself started because of years of unbalanced economic systems, strong abolitionists and their powerful arguments, as well as the overflow and ignoring of compromises.
After the compromise of 1820, which said slavery could not be extended past a certain boundary, there was a clear picture of where you could and couldn't have slaves. As time when on, however, the compromise line was repealed by the compromise of 1850. In document J it's shown that the Kansas-Nebraska Act brought upon the principle of popular sovereignty, letting territories decide whether or not they allow slavery within their borders. Kansas, Nebraska, and other territories, being above the compromise line, were able to undermine the principle set by the compromise of 1820. Of course pro and anti slavery supporters were at each other's throats about whether or not there would be slavery. When Americans didn't agree on things, the outcome was always violent, and the altercation was the Civil War.
It can only be believed that the civil war would've been avoided if the south wasn't so dependent on cotton profit, but they had been left behind by northerners who were more economically diverse due to trade and industrialism. The south made a living off of the cash crop cotton, being known as King Cotton, manufacturing the cotton production in the union. The upholding of cotton trade was due to inventions like the cotton gin, made by Eli Whitney, that made the process of separating cotton easier. This allowed the cotton business to stay afloat.
