Our OP is very true. And we then took more than half of Mexico's territory just so slave owners would have more space to expand into so that the price of slaves would not drop.
And what really forced the Civil War was Stephen Douglass's doctrine of Popular Sovereignty, letting people vote to decide if a new state would be slave or free. Popular sovereignty meant a blood bath, and starting at Lawrence Kansas.
And here in Santa Clara County we have monuments to the last battle to keep California from becoming part of the United States. Californios saw Mexico as corrupt, but they feared that the US would take their land away and make them into slaves. Well, the former did happen, but not the latter.
Extremely Good:
youtube.com
SJG
J. Lopez, Versace Green Dress
youtube.com
youtube.com
AOC speaks early in this, about the Amazon matter, and Amazon for some reason is getting a huge federal tax rebate.
democracynow.org
Robin Trower
youtube.com