That's because the identification with the Confederacy is culturally aligned with traditional rural southerners. They're not pro-slavery. They simply have ances

That's because the identification with the Confederacy is culturally aligned with traditional rural southerners. They're not pro-slavery. They simply have ancestors that are buried with a Confederate gravestone. The Civil War was the deadliest war in U.S. history. It rocked the South for 100 years. The South was completely wrecked, economically, so much so that the Great Depression was almost status quo for southerners. In the same way that we realize that World War II was indirectly caused by excessive sanctions on Germany after World War I, which caused a lot of spite and misery, the South had to endure a similar situation in post-war America. It was about slavery for the elites. It wasn't about slavery for the poor rural southerners who died in the war. If you're curious, here's an interview with a veteran of the Civil War recorded in 1947: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfqIa4dDxrw&t=21s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfqIa4dDxrw&t=21s