The Civil War was primarily a conflict over states' rights, states autonomy, and the expansion of slavery into new territories. The Confederate states, which supported the preservation of slavery, fought against the Union states, which opposed the expansion of slavery and sought to preserve the Union.
During the Civil War, the focus was on the emancipation and freeing of enslaved people rather than continuing or participating in the slave trade. The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, declared that all slaves in Confederate territory were free. This proclamation and the subsequent ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 officially abolished slavery in the United States.
Following the Civil War, the United States experienced significant social, economic, and political changes as it transitioned towards a nation free of slavery and dealt with the aftermath of the war.