Slavery and the Civil War were closely related because slavery was the main issue that divided the North and South leading up to the war. The Southern economy was heavily dependent on slave labor for its agriculture, particularly cotton production, while the North had largely moved away from slavery and industrialized. As the nation expanded westward, the question of whether new states would allow slavery or not became a major point of contention. The election of Abraham Lincoln, who opposed the spread of slavery into new territories, further heightened tensions between the two regions. Ultimately, the Civil War was fought, in part, to determine whether slavery would continue to exist in the United States.
