Applying 21st century thought to the minds of 19th century men

I am by no means a Confederate apologist. I am a historian and when you delve into history you tend to eventually delve into fact. What really bothers me is how a lot of people in the 21st century can't seem to grasp that the United States of 1860 is nothing like what it is today.

- Had you lived in 1860, the federal government would have directly touched your life in but one way: it delivered you your mail.

- You would have paid taxes to state and local governments as there were no nationally imposed taxes as of yet.

- You would have settled any disputes that you might have had with a neighbor in either a state or local court.

- You would have likely never come across the U.S. flag unless you lived near to a fort. In fact, in the year 1860, the average American had never seen Old Glory before.

- There was no national motto.

- There was no national anthem.

- There was no nationalism in this country at all in 1860, and that includes the 16,000 men who were serving in the United States Army at the time.

- There was no such thing as "national pride" until Appomattox.

So when people ask how an entire region could so easily break away from the Union in 1860-61, it was because they had no close ties to the Union. Most Americans viewed their state as their country. There was no such thing as national identity or patriotism as we understand it today. Most of these concepts were established in the war's aftermath.