@cjd I'd be willing to bet the vote against secession was purely a self-preservation measure. They knew secession would have massively negative economic repercussions, so it would be better to continue fighting this through whatever legal avenues were available.

I bet the same thing would happen today. People know a civil war would be a terrible thing to have to deal with and tons of conservatives would be against it, but once it starts you pick your side. What other option do you have in that scenario?