But Wait! It would not only cause them massive loss of sales to the South, Southern companies could import these goods and distribute them through the Mississippi river watershed to huge swaths of the Midwest, and they could also distribute goods all along their borders to the Northern states. Another massive financial impact to the same Industrial barons of the North.
But Wait! Profits made by Southern corporations would not only ramp up Southern shipping, it would attract Northern experts to move south and set up manufacturing facilities in Southern cities, which would then also compete directly against the Northern industrial barons.
But Wait! Over time, states realizing that their financial interests were better served by the Confederacy than by the New York controlled Northern coalition, would eventually chose to join the Confederacy, starting with all the border states. Over time, the Confederacy would grow at the expense of the Union.
Fantasy “what if history” at it’s best.
Clearly the introduction of European manufactured goods to the South at greatly reduced prices (due to removal of high tariffs) would be detrimental to Northern sales of similar products.
Would you have us believe that European goods would not have hurt Northern sales?
Please clarify your point here with specific claims about what European goods would have done to Northern industrialists incomes. If you argue it would have had no effect, I will counter with "Then why protectionism?"