Replies

PeaRidge: "Wrong. Tariff revenue for 1860 was 52.7 million. Tariff revenue for 1861 was 39 million."

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I see where total Federal receipts fell from $65 million in 1855 to $56 million in 1860, then rose to $113 million on 1863 after all cotton exports stopped.

But there is more to this story, and I'll have to look up those numbers later.

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PeaRidge: "Federal debt in 1860 was 64.8 million."

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Which is equivalent in today's world to about $3 trillion, as compared to our actual current national debt of, what is it now, $20 trillion? So financially, the US was in vastly better shape in 1861 than it is today.

Mull that over in your mind...

I see where total Federal receipts fell from $65 million in 1855 to $56 million in 1860, then rose to $113 million on 1863 after all cotton exports stopped.

I'm not sure where your 1863 figure comes from. Source please. My own figures for that and other years year come from F. W. Taussig's "The Tariff History of the United States" published in 1910 [Link], page 345.

Also, you are perhaps forgetting that the North underwent inflation during the war, a natural consequence of the war and of not having cotton exports to offset the imports. The tariff income (duties collected) for 1863 was worth $45.8 million in 1860 dollars. That was down from what was collected in 1860.

See my linked table that includes the effect of inflation: [Inflation effect on tariff income. Post 174].

The link in that post to Inflation Rates no longer works... I'm sure you can find comparable rates listed elsewhere. From my table you can also see the effective tariff rate for each year. The North kept raising tariff rates during the war.

BroJoke, while you are looking for that data on trade value that Rustbucket brought into question, and while Rustbucket is watching, you never did provide him with that book that you quoted as telling you that the US Revenue Cutter “Harriot (sic and your spelling) Lane” was at Pensacola landing troops at the same time that the Official Records and the Coast Guard Home Page documents show that she was in Charleston, sailing around and firing her cannon.

You held onto that fantasy for several days of postings, kind of like you are doing now with the tariff data that you really don't have.

I think it is clear that you are basically just typing to be typing.

“I see where total Federal receipts fell.....then rose to $113 million on 1863 after all cotton exports stopped.”

Where are you getting that data?