We’re led to believe by Civil War buffs and professional historians alike that the Confederacy was this pinnacle of conservative thought or at least deeply conservative in its outlook.”
Ummmmmmmm.......no.
no and no
Not if human liberty and flourishing and civilization is a “goal” of conservatism.
Now all that said....the South had an aristocratic culture, and a healthy culture, should always have aristocratic elements in it. Because of our collective irrational hatred of the South (they are Americans too, so many forget), we tend to not see the beauty in aristocracy. That’s a big topic, and of course, aristocracy (like democracy) has its own inherent defects. But aristocracy is important...it does promote human flourishing when it is part of the mix.
The South is not an enemy. But it’s not the pinnacle of conservatism.
“Ummmmmmmm.......no.”
Ummmmmmmm.......yes. I searched google books for all of about 20 seconds, this was one of the first that came up.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Never_Surrender/rlgFJzoQyQsC?hl=en&gbpv=0
Here is another. Search these books for the word conservative and see what you get. No really, you won’t be surprised. It’s predictable propaganda.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Irony_of_the_Solid_South/lo7-k6uzUDcC?hl=en&gbpv=0
Historians are a big time source of attacks against those of us as conservatives and the Civil War Buffs aren’t a known body of stalwarts against this.