What was the Civil War all about?
This is a question frequently asked of Civil War living historians and reenactors. And even these people often discuss it around the campfires in the evenings, when the spectators are safely home. Fortunately for us, several of the southern states left a record of why they tried, for four bloody years, to separate themselves from the Union. These records are the Declarations of Secession passed by those states.
So read, and learn what the Civil War (or the War Between the States) was all about...
Declarations Of Secessions
But probably the best overall source of original materials - letters, journals, etc. - that details why these men in Blue and Grey fought and died, is contained in James McPherson's 1997 book - Causes & Comrades: Why Men Fought In The Civil War (ISBN: 0195090233). Some of the letters contained in this book will make your heart swell and your eyes water, others will make you wonder how Americans could believe such things, even 135 years ago.
For additional readings on this subject, I highly recommend the
Causes of the Civil War WWW site at:
http://members.aol.com/jfepperson/causes.html
and
Don't Know Much About the Civil War:
Everything You Need to
Know About America's Greatest Conflict but Never Learned
by Kenneth C. Davis.
Or you might want to read what Alexander Stephens, the Vice-President of the Confederate States of America,
told a southern audience on March 21, 1861. If so, see the important parts at:
http://members.aol.com/jfepperson/stephans.html.
The complete speech is available at:
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=76.
Battle of Olustee Home Page
http://battleofolustee.org/