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Tex,

You're right in hinting how the slavery issue itself shouldn't wash away everything the United States government did in response to secession.

We could plausibly argue that slavery would have ended much sooner had the British won the War of American Independence. It would of had to have ended sooner or later if the Confederate States been victorious. Hard to say when. Most likely by the 1880's if you look at Brazil and Cuba doing same.

On the other hand would the slavery issue have eventually pitted the upper South versus the deep South? I could see that too. By the end of 1864-65 the Virginians and North Carolinian urban moderates had eliminated the fire-eating planters in government. The Deep South states resented the Richmond government and Virginia control of the Army/tactics.
So we could make the counter argument that secession would of had to stop somewhere.

Basically the way I've come to see it after many arguments in my day...

1) radical pro slavery and radical abolitionists created a political crisis in the mid 19th century
2) that crisis resolved around the issue of slavery
3) no one had the solution so secession became a crisis
4) the secession crisis caused the war
5) moderates both north and south had to make a hard choice
6) these moderates tended to be more loyal to their cause, more steadfast, and heroic than the radicals were
7) terrible tragedy that so many died
8) fascinating battles and tactics, great geniuses
9) slavery ended which had to happen, but some of the union's tactics resulted in longstanding hatred of blacks and resentment.
10) reconstruction was mishandled and caused more problems than the war itself.
11) although Lincoln was not perfect his assasination made things 100 x worse for the south, he would have been more lenient
12) let both yanks and rebs have their respective heroes and not refight the war.

YH