Letter: War was about economics

John Baxley shares the economic reasons for the civil war. High schools and politicians have changed history to make this war solely about slavery, but that issue was not the main reason for the war. The struggle was about unfair taxation, at least according to the author. The background is examined in more detail in the story.

Key Takeaways:

• The unfair 40-percent tariff on cotton was paid by the five Deep South cotton states, which financed 80 percent of the U.S. Treasury.
• The South felt the only way it could change this unfair arrangement would be to legally secede and form its own country.
• my paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and it is not either to save or destroy slavery.

“With all this hate and economic warfare against the South, the folks in Dixie had no choice but to leave the Union or face economic ruin. Truly a sad choice, as that is what happened to the South in the end despite their heroic attempt to form their own nation.”