The Federal government got the tax money. The Northern industrialists got the profit gouging.
Why did they pay them when they weren’t required to?
You are always required to pay the taxes.
Were they stupid?
Nah, they figured the North was ripping them off, and that's why they wanted out.
And why was the vast majority collected in the North and not the South?
It's a little thing called "The Navigation act of 1817", and subsequent iterations of it. It forced the South into using Northern shipping, and of course Federal subsidies had also built up Northern shipping to the point that Southern shipping and ship building had collapsed.
The taxes got collected mostly in New York and Boston because the shipping companies hubs were there, it was closer to Europe, so there was less turnaround on shipments. There was no reason for ships to travel 800 additional miles South when the tax rate was exactly the same there.
So was the 72% from the South + the the 28% from the North the total money in the United States?
That was the total tax money raised from tariffs. It was not the total money in the United States, and you asking such a question makes me think you really don't understand this economics stuff.
That’s all there was. Noting for food, clothing, shelter, trains, horses, boats, books, schools, teachers … nothing for any of that?
I don't even understand what sort of point you are trying to make here.
Do you not understand that virtually ALL federal taxes came from tariffs? They didn't come from "food, clothing, shelter, trains, horses, boats, books, schools, teachers "... they came from tariffs.
That stuff has nothing to do with taxes.
Oh man, give it up. There was no tax on exports. Does your cotton pick’n brain understand that fact. I’ll say it again louder.
There was no tax on exports. The South did not pay 72% of taxes.