[Kenny Bunk]

The most basic simple fact about the War is that it was a war of invasion and conquest.....

By inseparably "packaging" the Slavery Concept with the States' Rights Concept, the Southrons forever foxtrotted the issue of state sovereignty.

Thanks, O Noble Sons of the Olde South. Sure the 90% of outstandingly brave Confederate fighting men who did not own slaves were defending their homes against invasion. Bravo! Best young fellows in the country!

All the rest of your points about Northern Exploitation of the agrarian South, rampant federalism, etc. ad nauseam, are quite accurate, but so what? It was a Rich Man's War and a Poor Man's Fight. The planter boys who ran the Southern show would not even take innumerable reasonable deals offered to sell their slaves for shipment back to Africa, or gradual emancipation with compensation. They were stuck on slavery as the key to their way of life. BTW, the Abolitionists were absolutely stupid bastards about the whole thing, too. But not even Robert E. Lee of Holy Memory believed in slavery.

[thulldud]

But not even Robert E. Lee of Holy Memory believed in slavery.

He didn't believe in secession, either. He was trapped between bad alternatives.

[Sherman Logan]

Sure the 90% of outstandingly brave Confederate fighting men who did not own slaves

Inaccurate. 36% of the 1861 volunteers came from slave owning families.

http://deadconfederates.com/2011/04/28/ninety-eight-percent-of-texas-confederate-soldiers-never-owned-a-slave/