The traditional view of the American Civil War is that the states of North America had become divided into two different `camps' representing two very different societies by the 1860's. These societies had little common ground, with different economic and social structures and were divided by the issue of slavery. This argument claims that slave and free states were bound to come into conflict since the North and the South were 'divided across a fault line delineated by the institution of slavery'. The conflict did become a Civil War in 1861, fought between two separate regions, with most northerners on the side of the Union and most southerners on the side of the Confederacy. Even in some cases, such as in Missouri, the war divided families and relatives fought relatives. However, some historians have challenged this traditional interpretation of the war.

The popular view of the American Civil War...