One of the biggest debates during the Civil War was how far should governments go in dictating our lives.We still debate those politics. --William Blair,Civil War historian >Nullification,state's rights and secession.Those terms might sound like they're lifted from a Civil War history book,but they're actually making a comeback on the national stage today. Since the rise of the Tea Party and debate over the new health care law,more Republican lawmakers have brandished those terms.Republican lawmakers in at least 11 states invoked nullification to thwart the new health care law,according to a recent USA Today article. >It was the kind of talk that led to the Civil War,historians say. >"One of the biggest debates during the Civil War was how far should governments go in dictating our lives.We still debate those politics,"says William Blair,director of the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center at Pennsylvania State University. The Southern answer to that question ignited the war.When they seceded,their leaders said that they were protecting the inherent rights of sovereign states.They invoked the 13 Colonies'fight for independence. >H.W.Crocker III,author of "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War,"says Southern secessionists were patriots reaffirming the Founding Father's belief that the Colonies were free and independent states. >"If the Southern states pulled out of the union today after,say,the election of Barack Obama,or some other big political issue like abortion,how many of us would think the appropriate reaction from the federal government would be to blockade Southern ports and send armies into Virginia?"Crocker asks. >He says men such as Jefferson Davis,the leader of the Confederacy,are American heroes. >"Jefferson Davis was not trying to force anything on the people in the North,"he says."We wanted to be left alone.What actually caused the war is Lincoln's insistence that no,we can't let these people go." >Slavery caused the war,says McCurry,author of "Confederate Reckoning,"and most historians. >Southern slaveholders invoked the Revolution while trying to build an antidemocratic slave state "dedicated to the proposition that all men are not created equal,"McCurry says. >They also didn't want to lose the tremendous wealth generated by slave labor,she says. >"They felt confident because they were the biggest producers of cotton in the Western world at the height of the Industrial Revolution." Unleashing the dogs of warOne of the biggest debates during the Civil War was how far should governments go in dictating our lives. We still debate those politics. --William Blair, Civil War historian  Nullification, state's rights and secession. Those terms might sound like they're lifted from a Civil War history book, but they're actually making a comeback on the national stage today.  Since the rise of the Tea Party and debate over the new health care law, more Republican lawmakers have brandished those terms. Republican lawmakers in at least 11 states invoked nullification to thwart the new health care law, according to a recent USA Today article.  It was the kind of talk that led to the Civil War, historians say.  "One of the biggest debates during the Civil War was how far should governments go in dictating our lives. We still debate those politics," says William Blair, director of the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center at Pennsylvania State University.  The Southern answer to that question ignited the war. When they seceded, their leaders said that they were protecting the inherent rights of sovereign states. They invoked the 13 Colonies' fight for independence.  H.W. Crocker III, author of "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War," says Southern secessionists were patriots reaffirming the Founding Father's belief that the Colonies were free and independent states.  "If the Southern states pulled out of the union today after, say, the election of Barack Obama, or some other big political issue like abortion, how many of us would think the appropriate reaction from the federal government would be to blockade Southern ports and send armies into Virginia?" Crocker asks.  He says men such as Jefferson Davis, the leader of the Confederacy, are American heroes.  "Jefferson Davis was not trying to force anything on the people in the North," he says. "We wanted to be left alone. What actually caused the war is Lincoln's insistence that no, we can't let these people go."  Slavery caused the war, says McCurry, author of "Confederate Reckoning," and most historians.  Southern slaveholders invoked the Revolution while trying to build an antidemocratic slave state "dedicated to the proposition that all men are not created equal," McCurry says.  They also didn't want to lose the tremendous wealth generated by slave labor, she says.  "They felt confident because they were the biggest producers of cotton in the Western world at the height of the Industrial Revolution."  Unleashing the dogs of war