During the Civil War era, the struggle over states' rights was between the individual Southern states and the federal government over who ultimately had the political power. While some historians argue slavery was the man cause of the war and others say states' rights was the cause, the two were very closely connected. At issue was whether the federal government could regulate or even end slavery within a state's borders. There were other factors that divided the country between Southern slaveholding states and Northern industrial states. The South saw the institution of slavery as necessary to their economy and their way of life. Even Southern churches supported slavery when Northern churches saw the ownership of another person as an abomination.