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Paul Craig Roberts is not a historian. He is just an economist with an opinion but no expertise or recognized knowledge as to the antebellum South.

You are going to have to explain what you mean by "200 million dollars" in the control of wealthy and powerful in the North. Notably, in 1860, the South had disproportionate influence in the Senate, so there was no immediate danger of anyone doing anything injurious to the South about slavery or anything else.

Foolishly, the South chose secession and war. And not for control of tariff revenues but to protect slavery.

Paul Craig Roberts is not a historian. He is just an economist ...

I can think of no expertise better qualified to understand the situation accurately.

Perhaps here is the problem. The "Historians" don't know a d@mn thing about economics and won't look at it or focus on it, and perhaps *THIS* is why they constantly bark up the wrong tree?

You are going to have to explain what you mean by "200 million dollars" in the control of wealthy and powerful in the North.

Simple. The South produced 200 million in foreign trade, almost all of which was under the control of Northern companies. You may not be aware of this, but Northern businesses ran the entire foreign trade operation for all Southern products. They shipped the material, sold it in Europe, brought back the imported goods as payment and controlled every aspect of the situation.

Even BroJoeK will admit to that.

With the South separating from the North, the laws that made it possible for the Northern companies to control everything would disappear, and the South could then control their own trade with Europe and finance their own shipping companies.

I keep forgetting that other people don't know as much about the reality of 1860 trade as I do.

Yes, the North controlled it all, and secession meant they would lose control of all that money, and they would lose the protectionist laws that forced the South to buy their products at inflated prices.

Foolishly, the South chose secession and war.

The South chose secession, the North chose war. Lincoln started it you know.

He sent a fleet of warships to Charleston with orders to force them to submit to his resupply of Sumter or his ships would attack them.

Or did you not know about that?

And not for control of tariff revenues but to protect slavery.

You simply want to believe that despite evidence. I have already shown you that the North was offering slavery forever. The South said "no."

You still think the North fought over slavery.