Hello my friends!

As an European who has never ever even touched upon the subject of American history in general, this question has been on my mind quite a lot recently. Can someone please explain what the reasons for the American Civil War were? Past events have shown that it is quite difficult to get this question answered without sparking huge controversy and hate..

I'm extremely interested in what you guys have to say and hope to get more elaborate answers than just 'slavery' or 'state rights' (not saying these two reasons aren't valid but please elaborate on the reasoning)!

Thank you guys very much in advance! Take care :)