Quote Originally Posted by StompleB View Post
The fear of abolition wasn't something that could have been realized for a hundred years without the Civil War. Slavery had already become economically inviable in the upper South and had transitioned to the deep South. Under the Wilmot Proviso, slavery could only spread West to territories below the 36 30 degree of latitude and eventually the North would have even more dominion over the South's economic interests.
I think this is wrong; the union knew that the development of California and Texas would eventually lead to more southern control than northern control, and allow the south to successfully secede from the union.
Basically, the union risked letting the entire pioneer west becoming its own country, as well as the south, and that's why it had to start the civil war in order to create a solution before the problem even began