[Modernman]

They did not give their lives to protect slavery in the South. They did not die to keep African-Americans from sharing the same liberties and freedoms that they were blessed with. They believed they were fighting for their families, homes and states against an oppressive government in the North.

Everyone loves to revise history. Was the civil war solely about slavery? Of course not. Was it solely about "families, homes and states against an oppressive government in the North?" Of course not. It was a combination of both.

Southerners were not the pure, innocent victims of Northern Aggression that many claim to be, while the North has hands that are just as dirty in the whole thing.

Is the Confederate Battle Flag a "symbol of regional pride?" Sure, to some. To others, it is a symbol of racial oppression. To deny that fact is to put one's head firmly in the sand.

[azhenfud]

Here's a little trivia for you:

It has been said that prior to the War of Northern Aggression, the South was a land of slavery and oppression to the Black race. Slavery was undeniably a bad institution. However, the number of Free Blacks living alongside their white counterparts were roughly three times in number in the South than in the North.

If statistics be the bearer of any testimony, let it be that the Southern accepted his Free Black neighbor living among them more readily than did their Northern countrymen.

Here are those Free Black population numbers:

Population of the North: est. 31.4 million
Free Blacks of the North: est. 225,967
Population percentage: 0.72% free Blacks in the North

Population of the South: est. 12.3 million
Free Blacks of the South: est. 262,003
Population percentage: 2.13% free Blacks in the South

(from "Best Little Stories from the Civil War" - C. Brian Kelly - Pp 74 & 75)

There were 2.96 times more free Blacks in the South than the North prior to the War of Northern Agression.