The US Civil War: About Independence, or about Slavery?

If Utah wants to allow polygamy, and the Federal Government says, "No", then Utah would be within its right to secede, provided polygamy was voluntary and not mandated to its citizens.

If Utah wants to force polygyny (multiple wives), and the Federal Government says, "No", and any of the women in Utah object to being in a polygynous marriage, then Utah's attempt to secede must be allowed only if the objectors, and future objectors, are, and will be, allowed to leave Utah.

If the Confederate States of America want to force servitude on Blacks, and the Federal Government says, "No", and any of the Blacks in the CSA object to being enslaved, then the CSA's attempt to secede must be allowed only if the objectors, and future objectors, are, and will be, allowed to leave the CSA.

The War Between the States was not about "Independence"; it was about the issue of "Slavery". And if it were about the philosophical ideal of "Independence", the advocates were inconsistent with their ideal, and they were hypocritical, demanding independence for themselves while denying it to the people they enslaved.

 

The Confederate Flag evokes among many a pride in "Us" of the Southern States, when "we" were an independent nation. But that flag is flown from a pole of, not independence, but slavery. As fond as I am of the independence associated with the rebel flag, I have to acknowledge that this association has been only in my mind, and not in reality. The US Civil War was about slavery, not independence.