Stephen, I just do not think history is so simplistic in its causes and effects that one can say, as you just did, that "Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party" were "the cause of the War for Southern Independence."

Your statement, "fueled the fires of Southern Secession" implies the fires were already burning and, in my opinion, burning brightly.

I will go so far as to agree that Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party may have been the straw that broke the (Southern) camel's back, but to say they were "THE cause" is a great, unwarranted leap.

"THE Cause" was the aggregation of many smaller causes going back to and festering since the founding of the Republic and drafting of the Constitution.

I tend to subscribe to CSA Major General John B. Gordon's explanation of the Causes (plural) to be found at http://www.civilwarhome.com/gordoncauses.htm

I think Gordon would conclude that Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party were "A" Cause, maybe even the "Last" Cause, but not "The" Cause as you stated.

In brief, I am far more comfortable subscribing to Gordon's "the causeS" vs. your "THE cause'