That ' s a gross oversimplification . The South relied on slaves to have equal representation with the North . Well , actually it gave them more power than the North in governmental affairs . However , several things were happening that was decreasing the influence of Southern states in federal affairs . A large influx of immigrants lured in by the industrial revolution swayed the balance of power in favor of the North . The North also favored a stronger federal government . When the North started clamoring to free the slaves , the South saw the complete dissolution of all their power and influence in federal affairs as well as total economic failure . They hoped that by invoking state ' s rights , they could maintain a power base of some sort . When it was clear that was failing , they decided to secede . The South depended on slaves for representation , hence the 35 ths compromise . The North didn ' t want slaves counted as a whole person because they would lose in Congress . The compromise was the creation of the Electoral College and counting slaves as 35 ths of a person . Once the Northern population had grown enough to counter the 35 ths compromise , they suddenly no longer cared if slaves got counted as a whole person . Slavery was a major part of huge power struggle between the North and South starting at the birth of the Republic . The power struggle led to the Civil War . Ironically , the war could possibly have been averted if the North hadn ' t been so adamant that slaves not be counted for the purposes of representation . And it ' s not like the North actually hated slaves that much . They forcibly conscripted immigrants right off the boat to fight in the war . These involuntary conscripts are one of the main reasons the North won . The South had better military leadership , but no constant fresh supply of new troops . What the North did during Reconstruction basically cemented racism in the South . The Southern economy was destroyed , Southern citizens were persecuted , and the South had almost no real political power for decades . The rich easily turned the majority against black people , with nobody the wiser to who was actually to blame . The war wasn ' t about slavery or state ' s rights . It was the culmination of a century long power struggle between two different groups of rich people .