As I don't know nearly enough American history to comment intelligently on the slavery/states' rights issue, I'd just like to respond to toadfrog's comment about "what it means to be a Southerner".
I was born in Austin, TX and have spent most of my life in North Carolina. I consider myself a Southerner, without a doubt. I don't think that means I'm a racist, a bigot, a redneck, or any of the other things some people seem to think "being a southerner" implies. To me, being a Southerner means a tradition of hospitality, of good music and good cooking, of helping your neighbors, and of being polite. These are ideals of my family, which has lived in the south since the earliest days of this country. There are definite wrongs that have been done by the people of my region, but many of those things have changed. I like to think of myself as part of the New South, keeping what was good about the Old South and trying to work past the aspects of it that weren't.