I was listening to a speculative podcast today that discusses the possibility of a second cival war in the United States and it got me thinking: how did the average Southerner react to the politics of the day in the decade or two prior to the Cival War? I learned about Northern abolishionists, the Underground Railroad, and the like while in school, but outside of Southern politicians in Congress, I don’t recall learning about the average Southerner’s feelings about slavery and secession. Very few Southeners were slave owners. Did they care deeply about states’ rights? Slavery? How did they react to Southern and Northern political rhetoric?
My great-great grandpa was a Quaker and was deeply disturbed by the buildup to the War. He tried to be neutral but ended up helping some Union soldiers who got cut off by the rebels. This was in the hills of East Tennessee. But this only comes from family tradition. I don’t think there was an average Southerner about the war.