re: If Confederate generals were traitors, so was George Washington

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The South was preserving the spirit of 1776.

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This cannot be overstated. Slavery was reprehensible, but many of the Union Free Soilers weren't just opposed to slavery, they were opposed to blacks living in their states and territories. Race hatred, not sympathy, formed the basis for much of the opposition to slavery in the mid 19th century.

And one need only look at the still-living former Presidents to see where they stood as the right of secession was concerned. 10th President John Tyler served in the Confederate Congress. 13th President Millard Fillmore (Yankee) was an open supporter of George McClellan in 1864, who called for a truce and an end to the war. 14th President Franklin Pierce (Yankee) and 15th President James Buchanan (Yankee) were both openly Confederate sympathizers.