Slavery became a larger issue in light of the Civil War starting to begin. However, slavery did not start the Civil War. That came about through many different issues with the economy and state's rights. Slavery was the straw to break the camel's back really.
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determining the future of slavery
It was both. The agricultural economy of the southern colonies became dependent on slave labor, but in the other colonies there were divided opinions on the moral acceptability of the practice. Several major parts of the US Constitution required compromise on the issue.
The slavery problem had remained an American issue since the ratification of the US Constitution. Part of the reason that the Civil War was fought was the election in 1860 of Republican Abraham Lincoln. His party was against slavery and although Lincoln promised to allow slavery to exist where it already was, it added to the South's belief that eventually attempts to ban slavery would continue and /or new territories in the US, would possibly add to the in balance between slave States and "free States'. This fear by Southern politicians and wealthy plantation owners that depended upon slavery to work the cotton and tobacco fields, was certainly one major reason that slavery became an issue in bringing upon the US Civil War.
slavery
The issue of state's rights is still debated by historians and polititians today. The issue of slavery however is not a factor. Slavery was abolished in the US when the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution was adopted.