The fact of the matter is that the political leadership of both the North and the South would qualify as racist by modern standards. I do not believe the relative degree is all that important.
I sure do. Believing that blacks were inferior yet entitled to the basic rights that all persons are entitled to is a far cry from believing in the ownership of human beings, holding them as somewhat more intelligent forms of chattel.
It's like saying not liking Jews is just a matter of relative degree's difference than incinerating them in ovens.
What hyperbole! Slavery was, after all, legal in many of the Union States. (I seem to recall something about free blacks being lynched during the New York draft riots.) Racism is racism. The fact that the North decided for political and military reasons to free the slaves does not entitle them to high praise since emancipation did not extend to states not in rebellion against the Union.
The failure of the Confederate government to embrace emancipation says more about their political ineptitude than their moral inferiority. By the way, your analogy about the Nazis and incineration is really a hoot. Where did you get that one, the editorial page of "The Nation."? LOL