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Thank you so much for these thoughts. As the descendant of Southern Unionists and Civil War Republicans, I am so sick and tired of having my ancestors trashed with labels from a political situation that did not exist at that time and having to hear Abraham Lincoln ex post facto declared an Obama Democrat. The same goes for our current regime being compared to Republican state governments during Reconstruction.

The Slave Power was statist and centralizing. No free state was going to be allowed to ban slavery. Eventually it would have been practiced in every state and territory of the Union.

Zionist Conspirator: "As the descendant of Southern Unionists and Civil War Republicans..."

Thanks for your kind words.
We should remember that there were many Unionists in every Confederate state, and I think bringing them to heal was a major factor in Jefferson Davis' declaration of war on the United States.
After all, nothing unites and centralizes a population better than war -- so long as it's successful.

Southern mountain areas less suited for plantations had fewer slaves and correspondingly more Unionists.
I've long thought that may explain why we have so many pejorative names for those folks (to whom I am closely related): hill billy, ridge runner, back woods, red neck, yokel, hick, clodhopper, and (dare I say it?), white trash, etc., etc.

What other groups get so many colorful names?
So they were outcasts in their own states, but most not in the least unhappy about it.
Today I'm not certain how many descendants even remember which side their non-slave owning ancestors were on... ;-)