You would be very hard pressed to find a quote from a single Southern leader of the time that would agree with that.
I believe the war was not about slavery and never was.
Then what was it about? What was the cause of the bickering and backstabbing you speak of?
It’s goes back to J C Calhoun and A Jackson.
Again S.C. boys that hated each other and stayed in a p*#%ing contest.
Care for slaves? asked the Indians how much the gov. cares for anybody.
Slaves, about half the states were free states, part were not, and the rest were not going to be slave states.
It was winding down whether you won’t to admit to it or not but I don’t really care.
Virginia, the largest slave state (also had more free blacks than any non-slave state) seriously considered emancipating slaves in the 1830s. The effort was led by Thomas Jefferson Randolph.