Ross Coen - People from that time as well as historians have made that generalization. I suppose some North and South regretted the demise of slavery. Lincoln, before becoming president, reportedly made the statement that "Slavery is like holding a wolf by the ears, you can't hold on and you can't let go". This is not a time when people in the country should become reactionary and forget compromise. History can't be undone. Good men, all of them Americans, fought and died for the Confederacy for reasons as legitimate as those who fought for the Union. By executive order President Lincoln decreed that all Confederate veterans were to treated as Americans. If this can't be reconciled, then the country will be torn apart again.   

Personal attacks are a failure of intellect, not argument.