What you learned in school
History textbooks, especially in the South, taught that the Civil War was primarily about states' rights and constitutional principles, with slavery being a minor or "side issue." The United Daughters of the Confederacy influenced textbook content to promote this "Lost Cause" narrative. Students learned that brave Confederates fought to defend their states' sovereignty from federal overreach.
What we know now
History textbooks, particularly in the South, taught that the Civil War was primarily about states' rights and federal overreach, with slavery being a secondary issue. Students learned about constitutional principles and regional differences as the main causes. The primary cause of the Civil War was slavery, as clearly stated in the secession documents of Confederate states and speeches by Confederate leaders. The "states' rights" narrative was largely developed during and after Reconstruction to reframe the conflict. Contemporary sources from 1861 explicitly cite slavery as the central issue driving secession.