The Economics of the Civil War

Dust jackets for most books about the American Civil War depict generals, politicians, battle scenes, cavalry charges, cannons[sic] firing, photographs or fields of dead soldiers, or perhaps a battle between ironclads. In contrast our book {[url=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=2XGHOEK4JT&isbn=0842029613&itm=7]Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation: The Economics of the Civil War Mark Thornton, Steven E. Woodworth (Editor), Robert B. Ekelund[/url]features a painting by Edgar Degas entitled the "Cotton Exchange" which depicts several calm businessmen and clerks, some of them Degas’s relatives, going about the business of buying and selling cotton at the New Orleans Cotton Exchange. The focus of this book is thus on the economic rationality of seemingly senseless events of the Civil War – a critical period in American history.

What caused the war? Why did the Union defeat the Confederacy? What were the consequences of the War? The premise of the book is that historians have a comparative advantage in describing such events, but economists have the tools to help explain these events.

We use traditional economic analysis, some of it of the Austrian and Public Choice variety, to address these principal questions and our conclusions generally run counter to the interpretations of historians. In contrast to historians who emphasize the land war and military strategy, we show that the most important battle took place at sea. One side, the blockade runners, did not wear uniforms or fire weapons at their opponents. The other side, the blockading fleet, was composed of sailors who had weapons and guns but they rarely fired their cannons in hopes of damaging their opponents. Their pay was based on the valued of captured ships. Historians often have argued that the Confederacy lost because it was overly reluctant to use government power and economic controls, but we show the exact opposite. Big Confederate government brought the Confederacy to its knees.

Some now teach that slavery was the sole cause of the Civil War – an explanation that historians have developed in the twentieth century. However, this analysis does not explain why the war started in 1861 (rather than 1851 or 1841) and it fails to explain why slavery was abolished elsewhere without such horrendous carnage.

We emphasize economics and politics as major factors leading to war. The Republicans who came to power in 1860 supported a mercantilist economic agenda of protectionism, inflation, public works, and big government. High tariffs would have been a boon to manufacturing and mining in the north, but would have been paid largely by those in the export-oriented agriculture economy.

Southern economic interests understood the effects of these policies and decided to leave the union. The war was clearly related to slavery, but mainly in the sense that Republican tariffs would have squeezed the profitability out of the slave-based cotton plantation economy to the benefit of Northern industry (especially Yankee textiles and iron manufacturing). Southerners would also have lost out in terms of public works projects, government land giveaways, and inflation.

The real truth about wars is that they are not started over principle, but over power. Wars however, are not won by power on the battlefield, but by the workings and incentives of men who go to work in fields and factories, to those who transport, store and sell consumer goods, and most especially to the entrepreneurs and middlemen who make markets work and adapt to change. This emphasis and this economic account of tariffs, blockade and inflation, like the focus of Degas’s "Cotton Exchange" reveals the most important and least understood aspect of war.

Honest and Honorable? Did you have to look that up in a dictionary?
I explained in a manner that even a three year old could understand that you asked a "When did you stop beating your wife question." You know you did and that is why you stick with that. You have nothing else.
YOU cannot speak to the four million in slavery at the time. Do you notice that NOT ONCE have you mentioned that or replied about that. When I turned it around and asked you a "When did you stop beating your wife question" from the other side you NOT ONCE could respond to that either. So let's try it again.

"other words, you CANNOT address what i asked you directly without looking like either a DUNCE or a BIGOT???
is that what i'm seeing, since you keep avoiding what Jeff Davis said, rather than whether you think that massive numbers of WAR CRIMES against INNOCENT civilians & USA POWs slaves was OK or not???

the ONLY "game,set, match" in this discussion is that evidently you aren't willing to give YOUR opinion on the HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of ATROCITIES committed by the traitorus slave keeping Confederacy.

instead you "duck, dive & disappear" & HOPE that NOBODY notices your deceptions & evasions. PITY that you will NOT simply say," What was done by the Confederacy was a series of atrocities, which were visited on the racial minorities, the poorest of the poor, helpLESS prisoners of war & religious minority groups. furthermore, i'm saddened & shamed that those things happened".

imVho, that would be the HONEST & HONORABLE thing for you to do.

Long live the United States!

Hold the mirror up to your face pal.

i find it "interesting" that THREE YEARS after this thread died, that at least ONE person decided to "take me to task" on one of my posts ON that thread.

evidently,some of the DYs just can't let "sleeping dogs lie", though they DO lie/deceive/duck & engage in SELF-deception.

also, i note that "Irish" can't seem to understand that REVISIONISTS are INVARIBLY leftist (some would say COMMUNIST) radicals, who engage in constant self-congratulation & the usual DY sanctimonious, SELF-righteousness.

may i also gently review the FACT, that MANY of the raped/robbed/tortured/murdered southerners were Roman Catholics, who suffered those ATROCITIES because of their religious faith???

free dixie,sw

"once more, i couldn't care LESS what anyone in 1861-65 or NOW thought/thinks, except YOU."
But every single posting has been a complaint by you about revisionism. Now you can't handle the facts?

"i'm at this point simply curious as to whether YOU are a DECENT & HONORABLE person or not."

Of course I am and I am trying to pin down a hypocrite.

"your continued "ducking" of a relatively simple question relative to the commission of massive WAR CRIMES & YOUR beliefs is, i fear, telling."

Your right you are ducking the simple question of: 1.The speeches of the Confederate leaders that stated slavery and its continuation and protection were the cause of secession. 2. You cannot and will not address slavery, the condition of slaves, the treatment of slaves, and the crimes against them. 3. You cannot admit that the ONLY revisionism his on your part. 4. The only recourse that leaves you is the name calling and the immature "When did you stop beating your wife" questions.

So, quit ducking the relatively simple question relative to the commission of massive CRIMES AGAINST SLAVES & YOUR beliefs are, I fear, telling.
There fixed it for you.

Long live the United States!

"also, i note that "Irish" can't seem to understand that REVISIONISTS are INVARIBLY leftist (some would say COMMUNIST) radicals, who engage in constant self-congratulation & the usual DY sanctimonious, SELF-righteousness.

Well since I only brought forward speeches by the Confederate President and Vice President and you have brought forward nothing but attempts to REVISE history, then you are stating you are invariably a leftist (possibly communist) radical engaged in constant self congratulations and sanctimonious self righteousness. In fact, that sounds quite accurate when one reads over your posts.

"may i also gently review the FACT, that MANY of the raped/robbed/tortured/murdered southerners were Roman Catholics, who suffered those ATROCITIES because of their religious faith???"

Well, I would be happy to review the FACT when you can provide the source for me to go review. Since your credibility is shot, I think you should put up a source or two for me to review.
No source? No kidding. You just made it up. That would go along with your leftist Southern elitist liberal revisionism.

My observation has been that liberals hate the US (yes, I said hate - ask them if they can say "I love the US") - EXCEPT when it comes to "the Civil War". Then the US was the greatest thing ever.

Southerners tend to be the reverse - they think the US was the worst ever when it comes to "the Civil War", but they are very loyal US otherwise - the US never did any wrong!

I tend to sympathize more with the latter attitude.

And thus, I also have a suspicion of anyone who voraciously defends "the North", as being a liberal/commie. Because my experience has been the above.

sadly for YOU, your response is OBVIOUS(to everybody who is reading this thread) is SILLY, ARROGANTLY ignorant & pointLESS.

furthermore, the treatment of the slaves by the aristocrats in BOTH north AND south,is NOT germane to this discussion between the two of us.as i have said repeatedly on these threads, slavery was a HIDDEOUS evil from start to finish. it was UNacceptable & SHOULD have been to any MORAL person, including Jeff Davis, "DIShonest abe lincoln" (who both HATED & FEARED "persons of colour", whether slave or free. fyi, he "spelled out" his HATRED in several letters to friends & compatriots, including to at least one Mass. congress-critter) and/OR anybody else.

the TRUTH is that you are BLINDED by your REVISIONIST, south-HATING, ignorant PREJUDICE & you have been LIED TO & MADE a FOOL OF by the LEFTIST, REVISIONIST, south-HATERS out of northeastern/left coast academia. (frankly, i can NOT think of a single CONSERVATIVE scholar, who would support the REVISIONIST BILGE that you keep harping on.)

you need not respond, as i expect NOTHING of VALUE from you, but rather just more arrogant NONSENSE & off-point bilge.

free dixie,sw

i too love this country, though i understand it is far from perfect (the USA is just the BEST one.). fyi, i served the nation as an officer of the army for over 20 years, which should tell you something.

the VAST majority of the LEFTIST, south-HATERS have done NOTHING to support/defend the country, while HATING a whole region (the southland), with a passion unsurpassed by anything i can imagine.

in their twisted little world, "south BAD/north PERFECT" is their mantra. they even fail to admit the HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of ATROCITIES committed against innocent civilians & CSA prisoners of war,by the DAMNyankee invaders, OR they try to dismiss those DOCUMENTED horrors as either "revisionism" or "myth" OR they try to dismiss the ATROCITIES (as "irish" has tried) bty saying, "that was a long time ago & you should just forget it".

SADLY (for THEM), the documentation of those WAR CRIMES & CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY exists, so they just LIE about it and/or try DESPERATELY to "change the subject" (as "irish" has repeatedly tried on this revived thread) to "slavery", "jim crow" or to something/ANYTHING ELSE except those documented ATROCITIES.

before the wounds that DIVIDE north & south ever heal (IF such a thing should ever happen),it will take (imVho)an OPEN & SINCERE ADMISSION by the DAMNyankees that what was done was WRONG,KNOWINGLY IMMORAL & CRIMINAL & that their attempts to cover-up those ATROCITIES were, in themselves, DISHONEST, INDECENT & IMMORAL. (as DAMNyankees are not known for either HUMILITY or HONESTY in dealing with their failings, i do NOT ever expect this to happen!)

in a previous post "irish" demanded PROOF of my comments about WAR CRIMES committed against Roman Catholics. if i went to the trouble to research & posted a DOZEN/HUNDRED/THOUSAND documented cases of such CRIMES, he would want one more than that OR (more likely) say, "that's NOT a good source". to DAMNyankee, REVISIONIST,HATERS, ONLY south-HATING sources "can be believed"!!!

ANY source that DISAGREES with their arrogant, ignorant,PREJUDICES is WRONG, no matter what the source may be. 'tis the "nature of the (DY) beast".

free dixie,sw

Well, you are avoiding reality again. Time to bring you back to what you are terrified to address and have not and cannot.

"in their twisted little world, "south BAD/north PERFECT" is their mantra. they even fail to admit the HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of ATROCITIES committed against innocent civilians & CSA prisoners of war,by the DAMNyankee invaders, OR they try to dismiss those DOCUMENTED horrors as either "revisionism" or "myth" OR they try to dismiss the ATROCITIES (as "irish" has tried) bty saying, "that was a long time ago & you should just forget it"."

A simple reading over of my posts to you can show you are trying to lie. The thread is about the cause of the civil war and it is your revisionism I have pinned down. I have not tried to dismiss anything. I have stated that you have attempted do duck away from the issue of the cause by the "atrocity" game. The "When did you stop beating your wife questions."
It is you that demanded that the events 140 years ago were the same as 140 minutes ago. So I spanked you with that logic by talking about slave reparations.

"SADLY (for THEM), the documentation of those WAR CRIMES & CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY exists, so they just LIE about it and/or try DESPERATELY to "change the subject" (as "irish" has repeatedly tried on this revived thread) to "slavery", "jim crow" or to something/ANYTHING ELSE except those documented ATROCITIES."

Sorry, the thread was about the cause of the civil war. It is YOU that tried to change the topic while still avoiding the CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY that were the enslavement of over four million people. It is you that lie. That was the topic.

"in a previous post "irish" demanded PROOF of my comments about WAR CRIMES committed against Roman Catholics. if i went to the trouble to research & posted a DOZEN/HUNDRED/THOUSAND documented cases of such CRIMES, he would want one more than that OR (more likely) say, "that's NOT a good source". to DAMNyankee, REVISIONIST,HATERS, ONLY south-HATING sources "can be believed"!!!"

Typical evasion by a keyboard warrior that makes things up. I didn't do anything but ask for a source on crimes against Catholics because you have no credibility. You can site any source. I would look at it.

"ANY source that DISAGREES with their arrogant, ignorant,PREJUDICES is WRONG, no matter what the source may be. 'tis the "nature of the (DY) beast"."

You don't have a source. That is what I asked for. You are the one that is arrogant, ignorant, prejudiced and wrong. Do I have to post the speeches by Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephans again? Address the issue or concede for you have brought nothing to the table again. You have not ONCE addressed slavery. That glaring omission on every single thread exposes you for who you are and the slave regime you memorialize and, from your free dixie drivel, institute again.

Long Live the United States of America!

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