A History of Taxation Practices, Chapter Nine: Taxes, Slavery, and the American Civil War

Raleigh NC Accountant

W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…

“Slavery – the one cause of the Civil War.” – John Stuart Mill, 1862

Can there be any doubt concerning this topic? Certainly the American Civil War was about the slavery issue… wasn’t it? Well actually, one of the greatest popular myths in American history is that the Civil War began over slavery and that Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, used a bloody struggle to sever the chains of bondage that enslaved over 3 million black Americans. Just prior to the war, the South had all it could have wanted.

In 1860, Southerners held the Supreme Court and Lincoln and Congress were approving a constitutional amendment to protect slavery for all time! What happened?

We should rewind the time back to the year 1832. By 1832 the national debt from the War of 1812 had been extinguished and Southerners didn't see a need to keep up the high import taxes which appeared to only jack up prices for the South's consumers. Either the South had to pay high import taxes on imported goods or it purchased Northern manufactured goods at terribly overpriced prices. Either way, Southern funds ended up in the North. To say the least, the South was not happy with this arrangement. If you are feeling the pressure with today's taxes, call a CPA for Tax Preparation in Raleigh, NC for all your tax-related needs!

So, in 1832 a convention was held in South Carolina to get rid of these federal import taxes. The convention declared the tax was unconstitutional and gave the governor the power to to resist the enforcing of these taxes instituted by the federal government. It seemed like a civil war was in the works. Cool heads won over, however, and the Great Compromise of 1833 lowered import taxes over the next several years to levels the South would tolerate. Go here if you want help with a modern-day Tax Return in Raleigh, NC.

Over the ensuing years, however, Northern corporate and manufacturer interests forced through Congress more taxes that once again oppressed Southern planters and made Northern manufacturers become rich. In 1850, John C. Calhoun, the South’s most exceptional spokesperson, gave a speech to Congress. It listed three wrongs done to the South that may cause secession from the Union and war. The first two had to do with fears concerning the erosion of power of the South in general and the states as well.

The third, and really the only solid grievance, was about tax policy. In Calhoun’s eyes, national import taxes was a class legislation against the South. Heavy taxes on the South raised funds that were used in the North. The center of economic life in the country was steadily changing heavily to the North. Calhoun spoke of secession if the taxes were not lowered. But what about the slavery issue? Well, in his campaign for the presidency in 1860, Lincoln repeatedly said he would not do anything about slavery in the South. Truly, most Northerners didn't really care about enslaved blacks, any more than they worried about the Indian in the West or poor illiterate workers in factories. The majority of black slaves got better treatment and more compassion than their working-class counterparts in the North. Lincoln, actually, told Southern plantation-owners that run-away slaves would be returned. The Congress and subsequently the Supreme Court (Dred Scott decision) continually affirmed that slavery was here to stay.

However, just as Lincoln was placed in office and Congress came together in 1861, they created more high import tariffs. Slavery was not an issue – higher import taxes were. In his inaugural address Lincoln said he would collect the customs in the South even if there was a secession!

Fort Sumter, at the entrance of the Charleston Harbor, began filling with federal soldiers to enforce the collection of the new taxes. The Civil War began in 1861 when South Carolinians shot at the federal garrison at Fort Sumter. The conflict had been stewing for years – but it was not over slavery. It was about taxes.

2 years later, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and then only after repeated military defeats, as a last resort to rally the North behind a worthwhile cause. To address the slave issue – the majority of the North cared little concerning black people in bondage, no more than they thought about Indians in the west or poor uneducated peasants in the factories. By and large, most black slaves got better treatment and greater compassion than their impoverished counterparts in the North.

That's it for the History of Taxes Series!

http://www.marccpa.com/

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