What major event did the Civil War primarily address?

The Civil War primarily addressed the issue of slavery, which was a central and contentious topic in American society leading up to the war. The conflict arose from the deep divisions between the Northern states, where slavery was becoming increasingly unpopular and was being abolished, and the Southern states, which heavily relied on slave labor for their agricultural economy.

While debates about state rights, territorial disputes, and economic disparities were certainly part of the context in which the Civil War occurred, slavery was the fundamental institution that drove those conflicts. The fight over whether new states admitted to the Union would be free or slave-holding exemplified how slavery intersected with territorial expansion.

The war ultimately resulted in the abolition of slavery through the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment, making it clear that the primary catalyst for the Civil War was the issue of slavery itself. The conflict not only resolved immediate tensions about slavery but also set the stage for further debates about civil rights and the treatment of African Americans in the United States.