States rights...what was the main issue of states rights? The right to own slaves. Slavery wasn't the only issue but it's the prism through which everything else passed. I have a letter from an Arkansas soldier who didn't own a single slave. No matter how poor he was, he was still better than the black man and wanted to keep status quo. He wrote his wife from the army "can you imagine if these people are freed and our little Suzy has to go to school and share a desk with them?" That's not the exact quote but that's the gist of it. Flame away.