Hardly insignificant unless you want to say that Jeff Davis who was the hand-picked representative of that class was an insignificant figure. Those guys controlled the political machinery in the south and foisted the conspiracy of dis-union for over 30 years until their goals were reached. They and their opinions are what drove the south to destruction. Once the Whig Party died in the early 1850s, there was no stopping them. As early as 1858, they were preparing for war by using their influence in the Buchanan administration to move large stocks of arms and ammunition into Southern armories. They intentionally conspired to split the Democrat party into regional factions in 1860 to assure the election of a Republican. They controlled the newspapers who propagandized about the intentions of the “black Republicans” using base lies and fear to make sure the white population would not question their actions.
If you want to see how “insignificant” they were, why don’t you check and see what the popular vote for President was in South Carolina in 1860.
what DOCUMENTARY evidence do you have of ANY of that tripe being factual?
that is the biggest quantity of bilge that i've seen posted on FR, with the exception of WPs usual off-topic damnyankee apologies.
free dixie,sw