jeffersondem: "I didn't want to embarrass my many friends who like to believe the north was fighting to 'free the slaves' while they were grabbing money with both hands and adding a slave state into the empire."
Like jeffersondem, you ignore the beams in slave-holders' eyes while you focus your criticism on the motes in Northern eyes.
West Virginians -- who were anti-slavery to begin with, that's one reason they didn't secede along with Virginia -- West Virginians happily agreed to abolish slavery in 1863 and did so in 1865, but jeffersondem pretends his hair's on fire over it, because he alleges that was not fast enough.
In the mean time, Confederate states were fighting to the last blood of their poorest young men to keep hold their wealthiest slave-owners' "property" .
The fact is that, logically, you just can't make that case and really ought to just give it up.
It's embarrassing.
As for war profiteers, I've visited the McLean home in Appomattox Court House where Lee's surrender was signed.
It's a beautiful large home with very nice slave quarters behind it.
McLean was a big-time Confederate military supplier & war profiteer.
So it happens, some people make a lot of money during any wartime.
But they are never the reason for war, then or now.
