If Jackson Had Survived?

[Johnrankins]

To be fair there were also plenty of poor whites who saw no point in fighting for slavery and called the whole conflict a rich man's war. Problem for them was that the Confederate government wasn't shy about drafting people (notably exempting the elite of society from conscription) and hunting down those who refused.

True enough, in any case more than just the slaveowners had a stake in slavery.

 

[Johnrankins]

I think Anaxagoras covered a lot of what I would say in Posts 59 and 88. If Lee stays within the capabilities of the ANV, then he can inflict one or two stinging defeats on the AoP, haul off all the provisions he can carry, and garner a huge PR win in the highly visible East (and they try to gloss over that little matter in the West). That might give the CSA their last, best shot at significant foreign help. Lee, with Jackson, and the rest of the ANV are in peak form at this point in the war, but that is still not good enough to sustain (including logistics) a rolling offensive through the most heavily populated and developed part of the enemy country.

I agree he gives a good start, just realize that by itself it wouldn't be enough. The South needs a lot of breaks in its favor to win. What I mean by that is Azax POD can snowball to a Southern victory if it gets some other breaks on the way. The odds are still against victory in Axax's scenario.

 

[Mikestone8]

True enough, in any case more than just the slaveowners had a stake in slavery.

Quite possibly a majority, if one counts in grown-up sons of slaveholders, other young men on the make who hoped to become slaveholders, poor relations of slaveholders who depended to greater or lesser extent on their richer kinfolk, and merchants whose biggest customers were slaveholders.

Slavery wasn't just the concern of a narrow class. It permeated the whole of Southern society.

 

[Gigapump]

Quite possibly a majority, if one counts in grown-up sons of slaveholders, other young men on the make who hoped to become slaveholders, poor relations of slaveholders who depended to greater or lesser extent extent on their richer kinfolk, and merchants whose biggest customers were slaveholders.

Slavery wasn't just the concern of a narrow class. It permeated the whole of Southern society.

I wouldn't say a majority, but I definitely see your point.

 

[Gigapump]

Moonlight and Magnolia's refer to a romantic view of the South. It equates to Lost Cause thinking. Nothing to do with Mississippi.

In my defense, Mississippi is in the south.