It was a bunch of states rights. I just want to note that slavery is a despicable practice and it should never have been started in the first place. Slavery wasn't even the issue. It was about what happened economically after the slaves were freed. Suddenly the price of cotton and tobacco would reach astronomical prices causing the price of clothing to skyrocket. It would have caused a huge economic shock that would have caused a depression. Good thing we had a war and depopulated or it would have been an economic disaster.
The right way to go about it wound have been to have the government purchase them and then free them. It was already on the books that no more new slaves could be purchased only existing slaves could be owned. The purchase would have given the farmers enough buffer capital that they could replace their workforce and cause more gradual price increases.
