Besides death and paying taxes, few things in life are truly inevitable. Each event occurs in response to another and is connected in a chain that leads to a certain conclusion. In 1776, the United States of the South did not feel the need to withdraw from the Union to which they had voluntarily joined. But in 1861, it seemed inevitable that the Southern way of life could not exist in a society determined to destroy it. What triggered such a brutal turn of events? Slavery, the cornerstone of Southern society, had existed peacefully within the Union since the National Declaration of 1776. It was therefore not slavery that fueled the secessionist flames in the Deep South, but violations at the political, economic and social levels. Secession occurred as a violent reaction against the North's massive violations of Northern ideals: a reaction that would ultimately lead to the destruction of the entire institution of slavery. The gap between the political ideals of the North and those of the South widened as the Civil War approached. Many Southern politicians felt that their interests were losing importance as Northern liberals dominated the political arena. As the years passed and more states were accepted into the Union, it became clear that Northern and Southern citizens had different interests that needed to be accommodated in different ways. The 1820s saw the emergence of the question of territory – which states would be accepted into the Union and with what provisions – and a politics of mass sectionalism (as the ideals of the North and South drifted apart). Southerners felt their needs were not being represented in Congress, because although the Senate was balanced, the House had slightly more representatives from the North than the South. In 18...... middle of paper...... on the inclusion of the institution of slavery, but rather on promoting Southern ideas as a whole. It is true that the CSA found slavery to be an incredibly important part of their national mission, as evidenced by Alexander Stephens and his speech describing black slavery as the "cornerstone" of the Confederate government (Stephens). But that was not the reason for secession, nor was it the only difference between the Union and the Confederacy. The long history of conflict within the Union culminated in what many saw as an inevitable end, but which was in reality a conclusion arising from a series of specific and certain events which worsened relations between the two sides of the country. The crux of this conflict – the disagreement over slavery – would prove to be the catalyst for the chain of political and social events leading to the war, but not the reason for secession..