content: My current U.S. History course challenged that view greatly and made it more about the reconciliation of the union, at the beginning. It didn't totally become about slavery in itself till later in the war. Something like the Emancipation Proclamation wasn't issued until 2 years into the war and even then the South didn't listen to the law of the North. It mostly just freed some slaves on the border states. We had been taught that due to the slaves thinking it was about their freedom they actually freed themselves through communication networks and eventually turned on their then masters. Which also brought about the collapse of the South. The books we read were published by Eric Foner.