Historians debating the
origins of the American Civil War focus on the reasons why
seven Southern states declared their secession from the
United States (
the Union), why they united to form the
Confederate States of America (the "Confederacy"), and why the North refused to let them go. While textbooks today all state that conflicts over slavery caused the war, they disagree sharply regarding which kinds of conflict—ideological, economic, political, or social—was most important.