College of Charleston history professor Bernard Powers acknowledges the popular debate but says there’s no doubt the war started over slavery.

“I’m going to start out with a controversial statement,” Powers said during a lecture at a Charleston County Public Library branch Tuesday. “Slavery was at the heart of the coming of the Civil War.”

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/mar/16/speaker-slavery-was-key-to-start-of-war/