As a transplanted Yankee living in Atlanta, I've thought a great deal about this. I've noticed that northern kids are taught in school that the Civil War was mostly about the slavery. The Confederacy was formed (according to us Yankees) mostly to protect the economic system which had slavery as its backbone. There were other issues, but that's the main one.
Southern kids are taught that the CW was all about "states' rights". Well... that's true, if you consider the decision about whether to uphold slavery as a state's right. If you try to corner one of these "states' rights" people, they are hard-pressed to come up with another state's right (aside from slavery) that the Confederacy was protecting.
You do still hear people in the South calling the CW "The War of Northern Aggression"

rolleyes ). I live about a half-mile from the old railroad Mile 0 marker, which was the heart of pre-Sherman Atlanta. I've read a lot of Atlanta history, and come across some real gems. For example:
On the east side of town, all the north-south streets change name at Ponce de Leon Ave. Why? In the days of racial zoning ordinances, whites didn't want to live on the same street as blacks.
In the old Rich's department store downtown in the days of Jim Crow, blacks and whites had to take separate elevators up, but could take the same elevator down. Why? Because (I am NOT making this up) blacks and whites would go to different heavens, but share the same hell.
What kind of demented mind came up with this stuff? :confused