The way I understand it, the Civil War was fought over a number of different things, slavery being one of the major reasons. But Lincoln didn't really care about freeing the current slaves at first, he was a Free Soiler, the group which merely opposed the expansion of slavery. After the war began anti-slavery groups began working to make abolition a war goal.

It's funny, you all say you learned in grade school that the war was fought over Slavery as an example of bias, at my grade school we learned that slavery wasn't a factor at all... I'm dead serious.

And Rebgirl, I know all Republicans aren't like this, I didn't mean to imbue an anti-Republican tone into this thread. My former Congressman gone Bush's Cabinet - Rob Portman - was awesome. However, I'd be careful, the RNC is becoming steadily more evangelical and polarized, and they would NOT take kindly to your pot smoking '>>