Howell was 16 when he fought for the south in the War between the States. This is part of a recording where he was interviewed in his 90's about how the south succeeding from the Union. Listen with an open mind but also listen for the subtext. "no trouble" after slavery, "States rights" and "my mind wasn't developed enough."

If you look though the documents from that time, I think its clear the south never accepted defeat, which continued the racial issues America is still dealing with today. Case-in-point. The confederate states held reunions on a regular bases, asserting their right to fight against the union. They erected statues of traitors to the Union to
1. "keep the Negros in their place" and
2., to remind the federal government that the was never ended.

Yes, the south fought for "States rights." The right to keep slaves. They didn't want the feds telling them they could not. If the south wanted to end slavery, it would have been on their terms, and their timeline. Also, if the war was truly about states rights, the white southerners would not have worked so hard to keep black southerns oppressed and keep them from having equal protection under the law.
#usahistory #confederate #slavery