History Memes

that the US Civil War was fought over […] "States' Rights".

It was. The right of states to allow slavery and be racist.
(/s)

Bizarrely persistent because there are groups actively dedicated to promoting that idea. It's known as "the lost cause" and its biggest proponent are The Daughters of the Confederacy and the KKK

Also, slave states wanted the federal government to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act on non-slave states. Which is rather the opposite of states' rights.

The United Daughters of the Confederacy played a significant role in whitewashing this history:

The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) has played a major role in shaping how the Civil War and the Confederacy are remembered, especially in the Southern United States. Their activities—fundraising for monuments, sponsoring school‑textbook revisions, and promoting “Lost‑Cause” narratives—have often downplayed slavery as the central cause of secession and highlighted states’ rights, Southern honor, and heroic Confederate figures instead.

Starting in the late‑19th century, the UDC financed statues, plaques, and memorials that portrayed Confederate leaders as noble defenders of liberty. These monuments became focal points for public memory, reinforcing a view of the Confederacy that emphasized bravery rather than the defense of slavery.

Throughout the early‑to‑mid‑20th century, the UDC reviewed and edited school textbooks, inserting language that framed the war as a struggle over constitutional issues and “Southern way of life.” By the 1950s, many state‑approved histories still echoed this perspective, marginalizing the role of enslaved people and the economic motives behind secession.

The Lost Cause is a post‑Civil War Southern narrative that romanticizes the Confederacy, portraying its fight as noble defense of states’ rights and Southern honor while minimizing slavery’s role, and fostering white supremacy through monuments, education, and cultural memory. It also legitimizes the myth of heroic generals and lost glory.

In its 1900 constitution the group declared its purpose “to preserve the memory of the Confederate soldiers and to foster the ideals of the Southern race.” Caroline Goodlett, a founder, wrote that the UDC would “protect the honor of the white man and the true history of the South.” 

I think even more damning against the 'states' rights' argument is that at least one (I stopped at finding one, lol) confederate state constitution explicitly disallowed abolishing slavery, so that state literally didn't have the right to make their own decision on the matter down the line, lol.

Used to be, when racists had to keep their feelings on the down low. Haven't heard "state's rights" in ages. And I'm in the Deep South.