By contrast, New Englanders were largely Puritan in their religious and cultural heritage. They never tolerated other religions, not even other Protestants and their differences with Southern people were the primary causes of the WBTS. There has been much discussion of the subject on this board. New Englanders threatened secession over the conflict that led to the War of 1812 while the rest of the nation held opposing political beliefs. At the onset of the Southern Secession, most Northerners were neutral over the proposition, but the New England yankees and their Black Republican Party allies could not stand to let them go in peace. This Puritan heritage was more than merely compatible with empowering the federal government, with the centralization. It was absolutely necessary to make it happen. If Bill Mahar understood Puritanism, he might embrace it.