* Slavery: Confederates believed that slavery was a positive institution that should be protected. They argued that slavery was necessary for the economic prosperity of the South and that it was a just and humane system.
* White supremacy: Confederates believed that white people were superior to black people and that black people should be subservient to white people. This belief was based on the idea of scientific racism, which held that there were inherent differences between the races that made white people more intelligent, capable, and civilized than black people.