The response that best shows how the issue of states’ rights contributed to the onset of the Civil War is: Many Southerners believed the rights of their states were threatened by Northern abolitionists.
This perspective highlights the Southern viewpoint that their states had the right to determine their own laws regarding slavery, and they felt that Northern abolitionist efforts infringed upon those rights. This tension over states’ rights and the federal government's increasing opposition to slavery was a significant factor leading to the Civil War.