For a long time, historians were unable to agree on the reasons for the outbreak of the civil war and whether it was repressible or irrepressible. Northern and Southern writers had different opinions about the reasons for the war. For most Northern writers, the war occurred because of the illegal plan of slave owners who were placed in the care of an unaccountable institution. The North defended the Constitution and opposed the South's immoral aggression. The North clearly defended the Union. However, Southern writers attempted to show their perspective on why the Civil War started by portraying the North as an aggressive country that wanted to destroy the South and all of its institutions. The South insisted that slavery was not the primary cause of the war but rather the North's aggressive and unconstitutional acts. The South claimed that the North was using its powers for political and economic purposes and denied that the war arose from differences over slavery. The dominant attitude of the North towards the South was the main cause of their hostilities. They defended this ...