> So is this what the South teaches in school? no. i went to public school in mississippi (both high school and undergrad) and learned the real reason behind t

> So is this what the South teaches in school? no. i went to public school in mississippi (both high school and undergrad) and learned the real reason behind the civil war. there are definitely some teachers and textbooks who emphasize the states rights narrative, but that doesn't represent education for the entire south becausee it's not a monolithic region. > The dividing point was slavery and Lincoln didn't really care about freeing them. lincoln wasn't interested in freeing slaves at the beginning of the war, but he decided to make it an issue once he realized how it could help win the war. (this is very simplified summary btw. dubois has a good argument about this in his book "black reconstruction in america")