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I am not arguing that the firing at Fort Sumnter was right.

In fact, I personally believe that there were better ways to handle the situation without having to resort to fighting ( e.g., a diplomatic protest for instance at the presence of Northern soldiers in a state that considers itself independent. Negotiations should have been exhausted, I believe ).

The North didn’t help either by resorting to invasion when nobody got killed at Fort Sumnter.

So, both sides were belligerent and this war really was not necessary.

I also believe that slavery would have died without the civil war ( most countries that had slaves, north and south of the equator eventually abolished them without having to kill one another ).

My argument is that the original understanding of the union was that the states had the RIGHT to secede for reasons they deem necessary if their independence or well being was not being protected by being members of the union.

I still believe this to be the correct understanding of the original intent of those who agreed to join the United States.

this war really was not necessary.

Beg to differ. Even very late in the war, when it was pretty obvious the CSA was going to lose, the minimum the South would consider accepting was separation and independence, which was exactly what the Union was fighting to prevent.

These types of differences cannot be compromised.

Of course, the war would not have occurred had the Union just rolled over on its back, as far too many jingoist southerners (believing their own propaganda) thought it would. But then no war would occur if one side pre-emptively surrenders.

My beef with CSA apologists is not that they defend southern heritage. I have great sympathy for this POV.

It is their contention that they alone represent American conservatism. Certainly the CSA represented an attempt to conserve some aspects of the American tradition. But then so did the Union resistance to the CSA. It was a fight between different ideas of what America was or should be.

IMO, on balance, the Union side was right. Not 100%, of course, and the CSA wasn't 100% in the wrong. But that is true of any conflict in human history, including the American Revolution, and all we can do is choose to line up on the side we believe in MORE.

For me, "all men are created equal" is a much more important principle of the American tradition than "states' rights." Others disagree. I respect their beliefs, I just believe them to be wrong.