"It seems very apparent that the Confederates who opposed slavery simply succumbed to peer pressure and ended up walking off the cliff with the rest of the lemmings."
Such extreme statements show your extreme bias. I suspect most Southerners who opposed slavery (or at least recognized it's evilness) were resigned to accepting it much the same way we accept the unlawful federal income tax or the misguided election of Senators by popular vote rather than appointment by state governments and prescribed by the Constitution. Some things are just so ingrained and beyond a person's scope to do anything about it, you just accept it.
I suspect most Southerners who opposed slavery (or at least recognized it's evilness) were resigned to accepting it much the same way we accept the unlawful federal income tax As heinous as the federal income tax is, it in no way compares to slavery. Nevertheless, I have actively opposed all forms of taxation for over twenty years and I would certainly never fight for a state or confederacy dedicated to preserving the income tax (nor would I have much respect for anyone who did).
Some things are just so ingrained and beyond a person's scope to do anything about it, you just accept it.
So much for that "home of the brave" stuff, huh?