Is it just southern propaganda, or was the war really about states rights vs federal control?
both of those are accurate.
the war was about the power of states versus the power of the federal government. the overwhelmingly, giantly, almost solely important point of contention between those states that wished to preserve/revert to greater state control was the issue of preserving the right to own slaves.
it is southern propaganda to focus on the former as if it were unconnected or less connected to the latter.
