Where did you get that figure “50% of the South’s assets were slaves”? That’s rubbish.
Here is one source. You can find the entire paper here. http://www.measuringworth.com/slavery.php
Table 4
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Regional Wealth in 1850 and 1860 Millions of dollars (except per capita) |
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North |
South |
North |
South |
|
|
1850 |
1850 |
1860 |
1860 |
|
Total Wealth |
$4,474 |
$2,844 |
$9,786 |
$6,332 |
|
Value of Slaves |
|
$1,286 |
|
$3,059 |
|
Non-slave Wealth |
$4,474 |
$1,559 |
$9,786 |
$3,273 |
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|
|
|
|
|
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Wealth (free) per capita |
$315 |
$483 |
$482 |
$868 |
|
Non-slave (free) Wealth per capita |
$315 |
$174 |
$482 |
$294 |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
Source Wright (2006), p. 60. |
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