In 1860, Deep South and Upper South whites totaled about 20% of all US whites -- 5.5 million out of 28 million.
On average, those Southern whites were slightly better off than their northern cousins.
Of those 5.5 million, at most 3% (165,000) were wealthy plantation owners, and those folks were very wealthy indeed, certainly by standards of their time.
But there is just no possibility -- none, zero, nada -- that 165,000 very wealthy plantation owners accounted for any number remotely resembling 75% or even 50% of total US imports.
At best, those future Confederate states may have accounted for a disproportionate 25% of all US imports, meaning about half of those imports went through Southern ports, and half through northern ports like New York.
Then how about you tell me what the North was exporting at 25% of the total that is so valuable as to be worth the bulk of the imports? Once again the math doesn't seem to balance here.
At best, those future Confederate states may have accounted for a disproportionate 25% of all US imports, meaning about half of those imports went through Southern ports, and half through northern ports like New York.
Or, if you had happened to read what pea ridge said about the issue, the vast bulk of imports went to New York, and were packet line shipped elsewhere.
This is true on the face of it. Your fancy graphic showing where the money was getting collected is dominated by New York. Do you think New York alone earned all that money from their own exports?