How do you think the common qualities of southerners helped make them defiant of the north?

The biggest thing Southerners had in common was solid, Scottish and Irish blood--those guys will fight at the drop of a hat--just blink and they'll be upside your head. Southern leaders took advantage of that, and got the poor farmers who owned no slaves to fight for the rich ones, who did own slaves. Classic case of the rich man's war, but the poor man's fight.