Confederate war finance | Wikipedia audio article
Channel: wikipedia tts
Date: 05/12/2018

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Confederate war finance


00:02:08 1 Tax finance
00:04:11 2 Monetary finance and inflation
00:08:36 3 Debt finance
00:10:09 4 Revenue from international trade
00:11:38 5 Other sources of revenue
00:13:20 6 Expenditures
00:14:08 7 See also



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SUMMARY
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Confederate war finance was the various means, fiscal and monetary, through which the Confederate States of America financed its war effort during the American Civil War. As the war lasted for nearly the entire existence of the nation, it dominated national finance.
Early in the war, the Confederacy relied mostly on tariffs on imports and taxes on exports to raise revenues. However, with the imposition of a voluntary self-embargo in 1861 (intended to "starve" Europe of cotton and force diplomatic recognition of the Confederacy), as well as the blockade of Southern ports enforced by the Union Navy, the revenue from taxes on international trade declined. Likewise, the financing obtained through early voluntary donations of coins and bullion from private individuals in support of the Confederate cause, which early on were quite substantial, dried up by the end of 1861. As a result, the Confederate government was forced to resort to other means of financing its military operations. A "war-tax" was enacted but proved difficult to collect. Likewise, the appropriation of Union property in the South and the forced repudiation of debts owned by Southerners to Northerners failed to raise substantial revenue. The subsequent issuance of government debt and substantial printing of the Confederate dollars contributed to high inflation, which plagued the Confederacy until the end of the war. Military setbacks in the field also played a role by causing loss of confidence and fueling inflationary expectations.At the beginning of the war, the Confederate dollar cost 90¢ worth of gold (Union) dollars. By the war's end, its price had dropped to .017¢. Overall, the price level in the South increased by more than 9000% during the war. The Secretary of the Treasury of the Confederate States, Christopher Memminger, was keenly aware of the economic problems posed by inflation and loss of confidence. However, political considerations limited internal taxation ability, and as long as the voluntary embargo and the Union blockade were in place, it was impossible to find adequate alternative sources of finance.