Apparently they knew nothing about US History.
Allow me to repair your "edited" quote.
"The most conservative men I know from the World War II generation have almost to a man told me that they believe the Civil War had little to do with slavery and everything to do with Abraham Lincoln being a lousy federalist totalitarian."
And give you some advice. Guys like you who make a living being know-it-alls on the internet should avoid slandering WWII veteran American heroes who are personal friends and mentors of mine. I'd blow up ten thousand of you to save one of them for one more day.
Interesting. The Marines I know are smarter than that.
Don’t be a dumbass and look even dumber. My father fought the Japanese in New Guinea (as close to Hell as there is on Earth) and my elder son served as a nuke on the submarine, USS Ohio, for six years. One of my brothers was career Air Force, another Navy, and another Air Force. There is no one on this site more pro-military than I. But don’t let that stop you from throwing out red herrings when you have no argument.
That generation was heavily propagandized about “the Noble Cause.” “Gone with the Wind”, “Birth of a Nation” are just two of movies and there were many novels as well. One of my favorites was “The Little Colonel”.
I believed that nonsense growing up in Southern Arkansas. But then I grew up.
Many of us are veterans like myself.
Just because they hold the views you espouse does not mean they know anything about the historical subject.
Those men have not be slandered. But they have been poorly represented by you.