Here's a blog post that quotes explicit statements by Southern political leaders -- including a Governor of VA and the CSA Secretary of State -- stating that they were leading a secessionist movement for the sole purpose of protecting their "right" to own other human beings:
And no, the fact that lots of Southerners never owned slaves is irrelevant. So is the fact that racism didn't just exist in the South. And so are all the other points you make here.
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timeasmymeasure
Complicated My Butt!
Date: 2010-10-25 05:50 pm (UTC)http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2007/03/slavery_and_the_civil_war.php
And no, the fact that lots of Southerners never owned slaves is irrelevant. So is the fact that racism didn't just exist in the South. And so are all the other points you make here.