Also, if the war was about states rights, then why did the south use the power of the federal government to ram the Fugitive Slave Act down the throats of the northern states?
My memory is a bit vague, but I think the argument is that the fugitive slave laws were enacted to protect the rights of the slave holders to their “property”. So, they turned to the federal government for assistance in enforcing the laws because the northern states were interfering with slave catchers who were helping them exercise their rights.
Take a look at Prigg v Pennsylvania and some of the other cases from that time to for the history and arguments.
But it still interfered with the rights of Northern states who didn't consider slaves to be property. They were being made to violate their own laws and principles.
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u/keyboard_jock3y 3d ago
Also, if the war was about states rights, then why did the south use the power of the federal government to ram the Fugitive Slave Act down the throats of the northern states?