Regarding Ryan’s comment below, the northern abolition societies in 1860 claimed about 2% of the adult population as members, which is probably an overstatement since all political organizations try to exaggerate their numbers. The overwhelming majority of northerners wanted slavery to remain in the south because they were deeply racist and feared the prospect of black people coming to live among them and competing with them for jobs. That’s why they cheered Lincoln’s famous Cooper Union speech in New York City: In it he pledged that the Republican Party had no plans at all to interfere with southern slavery. That … Continue reading re: Those Yankee Secessionists