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The Lesson in Tax Practices, Chapter 9: Taxation, the Slaves, and the Civil War
By plrprousers | December 31, 2009
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
Could there be any doubtful thoughts about this topic? Of course the American Civil War was about slavery… was it not? Well actually, one of the most popular myths in our history is that the Civil War was started because of slavery and that Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, used a terrible war to break the chains of bondage that enslaved over three million black Americans. Just prior to the war, the South had everything its way.
In 1860, the South held the Supreme Court and Lincoln and Congress were approving a constitutional amendment to protect slavery for all time! What happened?
We should move the clock back to the year 1832. By 1832 the national debt from the War of 1812 had been extinguished and the South saw no need to keep up the exorbitant import taxes which appeared to only jack up prices for Southern consumers. Either the South paid high import taxes on imported goods or it bought Northern manufactured goods at terribly overpriced prices. Either way, Southern funds ended up in the North. To say the South wasn’t happy with this arrangement would be an understatement. If you’re 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 hosted in South Carolina to nullify these federal import taxes. The convention declared the tax was unconstitutional and gave the governor the power to to resist the enforcement of the import taxes instituted by the federal government. It seemed like a civil war was in the works. Mild tempers won over, however, and the Great Compromise of 1833 reduced import taxes over the next few years to an area 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 commercial and manufacturer companies bullied through Congress new taxes that once again oppressed Southern planters and allowed Northern Manufacturers to become rich once again. In 1850, John C. Calhoun, the South’s greatest outstanding spokesperson, delivered a speech to Congress. It listed three wrongs done to the South that may lead to secession from the Union and war. The first two involved fears concerning the erosion of power of the South in general and the states as well.
The third, and only concrete grievance, was about tax policy. In Calhoun’s eyes, national import taxes was a class legislation against the South. Heavy taxation on the South created money that was spent in the North. The center of economic life in the United States was steadily changing strongly to the North. Calhoun spoke of secession if the taxes weren’t reduced. But what of the slaves? Well, during his campaign for the presidency in 1860, Lincoln steadily repeated he would not do anything about slavery in the South. Truly, most Northerners did not really care about enslaved blacks, just as little as how much they cared about the Indian in the West or poor uneducated workers in factories. The majority of black slaves received substantially better quality treatment and better compassion than their counterparts in the North. Lincoln, actually, promised Southern plantation-owners that run-away slaves would be returned. The Congress and subsequently the Supreme Court (Dred Scott decision) continually acknowledged that slavery was here to stay.
But, as soon as Lincoln was elected and Congress came together in 1861, they created new high import tariffs. Slavery was not the issue – higher import taxes were. In his inaugural address Lincoln stated he would go get the customs in the South even if there happened to be a secession!
Fort Sumter, near the beginning of the Charleston Harbor, began filling with federal soldiers to support the collection of the new taxes. The Civil War started in 1861 when South Carolinians fired on the federal garrison at Fort Sumter. The conflict had been stewing for decades – but it was not about the slaves. It was over taxes.
Two years later, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and then only following repeated military defeats, as the last resort to rally the North behind a worthwhile cause. With respect to the slave issue – the majority of the North didn’t care much about black people in bondage, any more than they thought of Native-Americans to the west and the impoverished illiterate workers in the factories. By and large, most black slaves received 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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