And it was on the way out in the south. There did not need to be a war. Slavery could have ended peacefully here just as it had in every other society.

The states felt it should be up to them when and if they decided to free them, which would have happened no matter what due to influx of innovation and industrialization occuring throughout the country. Even in Lee's time most most knew it was morally and objectively wrong to own another human, it went directly contradictory to their faith.

I mainly am saying, we have absolutely no idea what would have happened had the south won. For all we know it may have been decided by states like VA to emancipate and states like MS being slowly pressured into dropping their antiquated labor force. To say the south was fighting for slavery is a simplistic and mighty ignorant statement if you have ever deeply studied that time period, its politics, and its big players. A man like Lee, had they won, would have easily had the moral standing to get many states to change their stance after the war.

Basically, you cannot judge someone in history by todays standards. We have no clue what the south had chosen to do had they stayed a nation, they just wanted to have the ability to make that decision on their own. Not a great decision to make choosing between morality and money. People still have that problem. I see we still support the Saud's.

There are some interesting alternative history books written on the complex subject. It has always been a subject that interested me.