South vs. North?

[IvySpice]

They did believe in the words of the Declaration of Independence and the concept of consent of the governed.

No, they didn't. If they believed in the words of the Declaration of Independence (all men are created equal...endowed by their creator with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness), then they wouldn't have owned slaves. That applies, of course, to all the slaveholders from north and south who signed (and wrote) the Declaration of Independence. Hypocrites all. Clearly, they didn't actually believe in those things; they believed in what was good for them, and they dressed up their economic and political self-interest with pretty phrases. It took a couple of hundred years for us to get close to applying the beautiful language they wrote to all the Americans it ostensibly covered.

Most of us would be very suspicious of a man who claimed to revere his Nazi ancestors solely for their dedication, sacrifice, and commitment. They were accomplices in a horrific crime against humanity that was socially acceptable at that time and place. If playing that role is forgivable when it comes to slavery, it ought to be forgivable when it comes to the Holocaust, too. Are we willing to forgive our predecessors' roles in all crimes against humanity, or only some?