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I do not disagree. Just trying to be a little more polite to the Lost Causers.

In 1860 the price of slaves was not just “as high as it had ever been,” it was higher. “Peak slaves” was achieved in 1860.

A popular southern delusion was that they could secede, then invade and conquer the Caribbean and Latin America, turning it into a slave empire. Totally ludicrous and delusional, of course, as the British, in particular the RN would never have allowed them to do so. Any such conquest would have had to be largely seaborne. Not to mention that the rump USA might have also had something to say.

But I still believe much of the anger, hatred and bitterness so obvious in the fire-eaters was related to a desperate attempt to avoid looking at the fairly obvious truth that “the southern way of life” was doomed. If they insisted on defining it as a way of life based on slavery, which they most certainly did.

"In 1860 the price of slaves was not just “as high as it had ever been,” it was higher. “Peak slaves” was achieved in 1860."

Thanks.
I was trying not to exaggerate, and didn't have those numbers in front of me.
Also, you have to wonder about such things as inflation -- might that account for rising prices of slaves before 1860?

Here is a summary of data on antibellum slavery, including:

" There was an equally enormous demand for the cotton these plantations produced.
"It was so profitable that by 1860 ten of the richest men in America lived not just in the South but in the Natchez district of Mississippi alone.
"In 1810, the cotton crop had been worth $12,495,000; by 1860, it was valued at $248,757,000".
"The price of slaves increased steadily from 1802 to 1860.
"In 1810, the price of a "prime field hand" was $900; by 1860, that price had doubled to $1,800."

Well, you might wonder, how much of that increase was caused by inflation?
Answer: just the opposite, rising productivity and prosperity drove overall prices down between 1810 and 1860.

According to the Consumer Price Index, in 1860 you needed only $609 to purchase what would have cost $900 in 1810.

At the same time, a production worker wage of $900 in 1810 would be worth $1,510 in 1860.

In other words: over those 50 years of 1810 to 1860, average production worker wages increased by 2/3 while prices declined by 1/3.

And the price of slaves doubled.