[apache]

I generally like those ideas. I don't know that it would be a great idea for ships to randomly join rebellions though. Maybe if another component or facility or something were added to the game that kept ships and planets loyal, this might be reasonable. What if your primary, most experienced fleet joined the rebellion of a small moon? Would that really make sense?
And what about negotiating with the rebels? Why is that not even an option?
However, I would also like the ability for entire systems to rebel, rather than just single planets.
I would also like to be able rename individiual systems and planets. In single player games, this should be no problem. In multiplayer games, this should be based on which human player owns the system, and should not even be allowed for contested systems, unless some form of system could be designed where each player can name the same system whatever he wants without the other player having to go by that name too. Kind of like its United States to English speaking peoples, and Etats-unis to French speaking peoples.
And this is off topic, but the civil war was not about slavery. Just because some person was a northerner/union soldier did not mean they were anti-slavery. And just because someone joined the confederate side did not mean that they were pro-slavery. They were completely different and independant things.