Confederate's Finances During The Civil War

The economic changes were quite devastating for both sides but mostly towards the South. Much of the Southern plantations were destroyed along with many big cities, such as Richmond and Vicksburg. Another economic change which had a large impact on the South was due to the loss of slaves. Slaves were what had made their economy prosper and post-war, slavery had been abolished and southerners had lost their work force. War needs led to expansion and centralization of Southern government control over the economy. The economic setback to the South lasted for decades. Although the United States remained as one country, a number of Southern states through the 20th century have had to receive an inconsistent amount of federal aid and intervention. This intervention by the Federal government has caused disagreement and resentment between

The Civil War was caused by the economics of slavery and the political control of that system, specifically being states’ rights on the federal powers of the government, the territorial expansion of the united states that led to the division of the two sides, and the election of President Abraham Lincoln which was the final event that sent the nation to war.

Economically, the chief and immediate cause of the war was slavery. Southern states, including the 11 states that formed the Confederacy, depended on slavery to support their economy. The North used a factory system for their agriculture, which they hired cheap

The causes of most wars are often very complex, but in the America civil war it came down to two major issues, slavery and the protection of the Union. In the North, they were growing richer all the time as industry developed fast. The workers were mostly immigrants with low wages. The South didn’t have these resources, and the slaves were essential for them. The Northern politicians insisted that the Slavery should be abolished and that this was an evil system that should be stamped out. Only the rich wool farmers and other wealthy

The war destroyed much of the wealth that had existed in the South. All accumulated investment Confederate bonds was forfeit; most banks and railroads were bankrupt. Income per person in the South dropped to less than 40% of that of the North, a condition that lasted until well into the 20th century. Southern influence in the

Since the Civil War brought extensive economic change to the United States, civilians in the North and South faced many economic challenges. "In the North the arms, metalworkings, boot making, and shipbuilding industries boomed, but the scarcity of cotton caused widespread layoffs and closures in the textile industry" (Keene, 391). Even though workers' salaries rose by forty percent, prices increased even faster, resulting in inflation that averaged fifteen percent. Despite the North's economic hardships, the problems the South faced were far worse. "The Southern economy was hit hard by the cessation of trade with the North and Europe due to the Union blockade" (Keene, 391). Southern industry and agriculture were limited by persistent

Economic conflict became a major cause of the Civil War because the South objected to unfair tariff levels. With tariffs in place that caused taxes on goods brought into the country, the South started to feel as though this was very unfair to them since they didn’t have as many industries as the North and were more dependent goods imported from Europe. As the taxes went up, so did the price of the items and resulting in every day, normal priced items becoming overpriced for people who couldn't afford the higher prices. This anger among the people of the south caused by this inflation was the source of economic conflict. John Calhoun of South Carolina claimed that he was going to end this practice,

The South fought this war as the Second American Revolution. The cause of the South was equated to that of their forefathers who had fought and won their freedom from Great Britain less than 100 years earlier. If it was a war to set men free, it was the Southern farm boy that wanted his freedoms guaranteed under the original constitution. The Northern states' politicians were aggressively attempting to implement a monarchial form of government, which was precisely what the early colonists had fought against in the American Revolution. The Northern states were taking advantage of their superior numbers in the federal government and were using their advantage to implement unfair tariffs against the South. Enormous amounts of money were taken from the South and funneled into the Northern states. Most of the revenue taken from the Southern states was used to run government programs. This brought about the argument of "State's Rights" and a weaker central government by the South.

The American civil war began in 1861 and ended in 1865. It was a War in which people were probably suffering the most. With a total death people close to 620,000 and million more injured. This event was a decisive one, according to the United States history. Through the North to the South, and the East to the West, that period of battle and civil War let engraved marks in population minds, which turn out is a watershed for Slaves and Freeman. One of the important turning points of the civil War was the importance to finance it. It cost a lot to both part of the United States to entertain war and battle during approximately four years. For example, the national debt rose from $65 million in 1860 to $2.6 billion in 1866. Nevertheless civil

The Union blockade did not take full effect for many months, allowing the Southerners time to export their cotton harvest, and reap the financial benefits. Alexander Stephens had a plan at the start of the war that he estimated would net around $800M for the Confederacy, providing a sound financial base for the war effort. Although somewhat optimistic, and affected by practical difficulties, it is fair to say that the cotton crop would have been far better exported than stockpiled or burnt. Secondly, the Confederate government displayed an unwillingness to tax her citizens, preferring instead to print money, and suffer the rampant inflation that resulted. The Union financed its war effort mainly from taxation and bonds, while 60% of Southern funds came from unbacked paper money. The problems associated with this are clear to see: prices rose 100-fold over the four years of war, wiping out southerners' savings, and devastating the economy. The government's reaction to this, the third mistake, was to impress public goods for military use. However, rather than curbing inflation, this merely acted as a disincentive to supply, making essential items increasingly scarce. This, coupled with the poor infrastructure and parochialism of some State governors, meant that the army went hungry in a nation with the capacity to produce plenty of food. Finally, it is argued that the Confederate government should have done more to improve infrastructure and

With no navy to mount a defense, the Southern government was forced to control production of cotton and raise taxes, which only furthered the disillusionment of its population (Perman, 224). Poor Southerners in particular began to see the war as benefiting a section of society that did not include them, as they were not slave owners. They were the very people forced to make the most sacrifices for the war and the government's control of their ability to produce led to bread riots (Perman, 219). Moreover, as enlistment numbers in the Confederate army dwindled, the government had no option but to turn to forced conscription and impressments of slaves, which Southerners viewed as the impounding of personal property (Perman, 221). The realities of war created a conflict that Southerners did not foresee when they had created an aloof central government.

One of the key factor contributing to the Civil War was States Rights. This refers to the struggle between federal government and individual states over political power. One side argued for greater state’s rights and those arguing felt that the Federal Government needed to have more control over states. The states felt they should have the right to decide if they were willing to accept certain federal acts. Meaning that states had the right to rule federal acts unconstitutional. The federal government denied states this right. When nullification would not work and states felts that they were no longer respected, they moved towards secession from the Union. The southern people were viewed as democratic and depended slaves for the plantations, they were devoted to agriculture and shipped cotton up north and favored low tariffs.

The primary cause of the outbreak of the Civil War was due to the economic differences between the northern and southern States. In the years prior to the Civil War, the economic interests of the North were increasingly different from that of the South. (Economies and the Civil War). In the North, the vast majority of

Before the Civil war occurred, there were numerous economical reasons to why the South should have been able to secede. One of these examples is the tariff law. The importance of the tariff law was to collect money from both the North and the South to raise money funded for projects and such for the

The second effect of the North’s victory over the South is a new financial system. The American Civil War destroyed the