I do think efforts to re-fight the Civil War or blame Lincoln for the size of the late-twentieth century Federal government serve no useful purpose.
The fact is one of the paradoxes of American history is that the United States, Reagan's shining city on a hill, arose out of a slaveholding society that nevertheless produced the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.
The Civil War is over and we are now one nation. I honor the sacrifices of the people on both sides and absolutely disagree with those today (mostly liberals) who try to tarnish the memory of those who fought for the South.
But these endless debates claiming slavery had nothing to do with the Civil War get us nowhere. You might as well ask, "other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, what did you think of the play"?
The Civil War is over and we are now one nation.
That war is over but the cultural,economic and political battle is still being fought. It's no coincidence that the south played such a big role in the culture war that was the recent election.