Question

even though many americans were eager to fight in mexico, other americans were opposed to the war. some of these opponents were abolitionists, or people who wanted to end slavery. they worried that slavery would spread to territory acquired during the war. in fact, abolitionists believed that supporters of slavery intentionally started the war in order to spread slavery!

some abolitionists wrote about their belief that slavery caused the war. for example, the following text comes from a letter written about the war by william lloyd garrison, a famous abolitionist. read the text. then select the part of the text that states his argument about why the war began.

we the abolitionists are in good spirits... though the opposition is still formidable.

it is certainly not a popular war; it was begun and is carried on against the deep moral beliefs of the sane part of the population.

the wars real object is the extension and preservation of slavery, no intelligent man honestly doubts.

formidable: strong
object: goal

Explanation:

The question asks for the part of William Lloyd Garrison's text that states his argument for why the war began. The relevant sentence directly identifies the war's core, intentional goal tied to slavery, which matches the abolitionist belief about the war's origins outlined earlier.

Answer:

[The war's] real object [is] the extension and preservation of slavery, no intelligent man honestly doubts.