From what I’ve read, most southerners did not own slaves. So perhaps it’s reasonable to say that many (most?) southerners really were primarily fighting for states rights.
But I don’t think you can say that when you go higher up in the political hierarchy. The folks at and near the top had a more complicated agenda. Same as it ever was. The grunts get fed a line, and end up fighting for something they might not really agree with.
A good example of that is the average German soldier in WW II. He signs up to protect the Fatherland. And then the next thing you know he’s doing the dirty work of an evil regime.
Well said
Yes, that’s about right. Nice post.
Germans were told that Germans living in Poland and Czechoslovakia, for example, were being raped and murdered, and needed help.
The average German soldier knew no more than that. They volunteered in groups from the same communities. These were boys who grew up together.
It doesn't make Hitler's objectives any less horrific, but it does explain the naïveté of the combat grunt.
“A good example of that is the average German soldier in WW II. He signs up to protect the Fatherland.”
Another good example was Union soldiers. The letters to home are very clear—the vast majority joined up to preserve the union. Almost none of them signed up to free the slaves.