25% of Us Have More Sympathy for Confederacy

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, and it looks like the conflict is still dividing the country. In a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released today, roughly 25% of Americans said they sympathized with the Confederacy more than the Union. Among white Southerners, that figure soars to nearly 40%. Among all respondents, a full 42% said slavery was not the main reason the South seceded.

The results “show that there are still racial, political, and geographic divisions over the Civil War,” said CNN’s polling director. Broken down by party, most Democrats said the South seceded to keep slavery legal, while most Republicans said that was not the main reason. Roughly 80% of Republicans also said they admired Confederate leaders, though a nearly identical 79% said they admired Union leaders as well. (More Civil War stories.)