No doubt you will be asking for references on the prior post. You can see from the following the spending that led to the debt.
The Economic Condition of the Federal Government in 1860
The following chart demonstrates the impact on exports and imports of Southern goods.
International Transactions and Foreign Commerce for 1857-1860
(Historical Statistics of the US, section U 187-200, pgs 885-887)
……............Value of ...Duties ….......Value of …Value of …….% of Tot.
Year ……...Imports ....Collected ….Exports …Cotton/Tobacco .Exports
1857 …334,000,000 .....63,876,000 ..279,000,000 152,000,000 ..55%
1858 ...243,000,000 …..41,790,000 …251,000,000 148,000,000 ..59%
1859 ...317,000,000 …..49,566,000 …278,000,000 182,000,000 ..65%
1860 ...336,000,000 …..53,188,000 …316,000,000 208,000,000 ..66%
Thus, it evident that just the exports of cotton and tobacco financed the purchase of the bulk of imports into the country on which tariffs were levied.
Practically the entire US Treasury, and therefore government supported Federal functions, as well as government underwritten public works for the states, were supported by the revenue from tariffs on imported goods.
………. Income of the Federal Government 1857-1860
………(Source: Historical Statistics of the US, Series Y 493-504, pg. 1114)
Total Income of the Treasury (Tariffs, public land sales)
Year …..Total Income …..Income from Tariffs
1857 ……. 68,965,000 .....63,876,000
1858 …….46,655,000 .....41,790,000
1859 …….53,486,000 .....49,566,000
1860 ………56,065,000 .....53,188,000
Federal spending for normal and basic government functions was as follows:
……………Federal Spending by Department
………….(Historical Statistics of the US, pg. 1114)
…………..Dept. of …. Dept. of …… Interest ……..Veterans’
………….The Army .....The Navy .….on public ……Compensation
Year ………(War Dept.) ……….......Debt ……….and Pensions
1857 ……….19,262,000 ..12,748,000 ….1,678,000 …….1,312,000
1858 ……….25,485,000 ..13,985,000 ….1,567,000 …….1,217,000
1859 ……….23,244,000 ..14,643,000 …..2,638,000 …….1,220,000
1860 ……….16,410,000 ..11,515,000 ….3,177,000 ……..1,103,000
Actual total spending of the US Congress far exceeded the amounts for normal and basic government operations.
………………………US Government Spending for 1857-1860
……………………….(Historical Statistics of the US, pg. 106)
…………….Total Fed. ………Total Fed Spending on Army, Navy,
Year ………….Spending ……….Interest on Public Debt., and Pensions
1857 …………. 67,796,000 .....35,400,000
1858 …………..74,185,000 .....34,300,000
1859 ………….69,071,000 .....29,700,000
1860 ………….63,131,000 .....33,100,000
Total Federal spending was not only well beyond its basic responsibilities, but also well beyond its revenue. The government began borrowing large amounts of money to meet its obligations, and had incurred the following debt just prior to the secession of the Southern states:
…………………..Public Debt of the Federal Government 1857-1860
………(Source: Historical Statistics of the US, Series Y-493-504, page 1118)
1857 …………$28,701,000
1858 ………… $44,913,000
1859 …………$58,498,000
1860 …………. $64,844,000
How about the economic conditions of the federal government in 1865? If the U.S. was totally dependent on Southern exports to finance imports, as you say, and if the Southern consumers bought 83% of all imports, as Benson said, then the amount of imports should have dried up to nothing following the outbreak of the rebellion and the tariff revenue should have plumeted to less than $10 million. Care to present the next 5 year's worth of figures?