I think not. By their very action of seceding from the union instead of attacking the capitol of said nation and attempting to overthrow the government, it is plain to see the South just wanted to leave. But a certain President couldn't do without his tax money now could he?
I get the impression that many Confederate veterans were not nearly as bitter against the Union as many Freepers currently are.
I beg to differ. The difference at that time is that while a tragedy at the loss of 600,000+ souls had occurred, for the years immediately following and I would say up until the early 20th century, these men were respected. However after 50+ years of dragging their names through the mud as some sort of evil men, I would hope they would at least want to defend their honor and set the record straight. As long as these continuous acts of hatred come against the brave soldiers of the South, and as long as our heritage is made the laughing stock in every form of media unjustly while the praise of anti-Semites, thugs, and criminals continues, there will be anger
There was the issue of Fort Sumter and other federal property (including what probably would have been an inevitable conflict over ownership of the Western territories). Also bear in mind that it was the Federal government that purchased the Louisiana Territory and the secured other territorial land that was part of some of the states that seceded.
I beg to differ. The difference at that time is that while a tragedy at the loss of 600,000+ souls had occurred, for the years immediately following and I would say up until the early 20th century, these men were respected. However after 50+ years of dragging their names through the mud as some sort of evil men, I would hope they would at least want to defend their honor and set the record straight.
I think the shift in attitude is much more recent. That the Dukes of Hazard drove around in a car called the "General Lee" with a big battle flag on the roof in one of the most populat television series of the 1980s should tell you something. And even Ken Burns Civil War, despite slamming home the issue of slavery, was hardly disrespectful of those who fought for the Confederacy.
And I think you need to look at why many people are now thinking of them as evil men and if you look closely enough, you'll see that may Southerners are feeding the problem. The associating of the Confederate Battle Flag with the segregationalists and the Klan is not helpful, nor is downplaying or ignoring the role of slavery in the war. And by dragging these soldiers into a modern ideological conflict, it makes those soldiers and sailors ideological in a way that they may never have been. In the context of a "Civil War", it is possible to honor these people as Americans who died fighting other Americans over a difference of opinion. In the context of an eternal War Between the States that is still not over, these men were not Americans and were fighting to destroy America. If you want all Americans to honor these men as brave Americans, you need to let them be Americans again.
As long as these continuous acts of hatred come against the brave soldiers of the South, and as long as our heritage is made the laughing stock in every form of media unjustly while the praise of anti-Semites, thugs, and criminals continues, there will be anger
Quite a bit of the anger is justified but misdirected, I think. And I do not think it is helpful to wrap modern ideological battles in the bodies of these men who died, probably for a variety of reasons. Again, I point out, would the men who died on the Hunley, had the lived to see the end of the war and a Union victory, been offended by being burried with military honors by the United States Navy under a United States flag? Perhaps. Perhaps not. We don't know. But assuming that every soldier and sailor of the CSA shared the ideology of modern secession supporters brands those soldiers and sailors with an ideology that many associate with racism. This makes it more difficult to view them as brave soldiers and sailors fighting for their state and home and easier to view them as racists who were fighting for slavery. Is that the impression that Sotherners want to send?