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I don't recall the exact land area figures, but the south was geographically comparable in size to the north. It may have been something like 60-40, but even there it is dishonest to portray them as a small portion of the country.

We are talking about population, not land mass. Trees and mountains don't buy imports. People do.

As for poverty, I seem to recall that virtually all the per capita wealth figures from that era ranked the southern states at the top of the list.

Show us just one.

"Show us just one"

Certainly. The US Census of 1860.

When the 1860 Census was completed it was noted that one measure of the census was “True Value of Personal Property” which was the per capita value of the population's property.

According to this measure of accumulation of personal wealth, the leading and most wealthy states among all of the United States were Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana.

We are talking about population, not land mass. Trees and mountains don't buy imports. People do.

Some people actually value open land. Forgive me for thinking that you might be one of them. Show us just one.

I believe that PeaRidge posted them fairly recently and pinged him to this post. Pea: do you still have the income or wealth stats by state from the 1860's Thanks!

(GOPCap. says) "As for poverty, I seem to recall that virtually all the per capita wealth figures from that era ranked the southern states at the top of the list."

(Ditto says) "Show us just one."

Here is the specific data:

......................Census of 1860

State..........Per Capita Total Value of Personal Property
....................(Includes Indentured Persons)

MISSISSIPPI..... $641.62
SOUTH CAROLINA..... $600.78
ALABAMA..... $577.40
GEORGIA..... $450.42
TEXAS..... $433.59
FLORIDA..... $410.80
TENNESSEE..... $401.19
LOUISIANA..... $391.52
NORTH CAROLINA..... $373.13
VIRGINIA..... $368.53
ARKANSAS..... $338.15
CONNECTICUT..... $328.29
OREGON..... $308.26
CALIFORNIA..... $300.59
KENTUCKY..... $297.03
MASSACHUSETTS..... $261.13
MARYLAND..... $250.22
NEW JERSEY..... $231.67
RHODE ISLAND..... $230.90
DELAWARE..... $220.55
MISSOURI..... $220.28
NEW HAMPSHIRE..... $193.26
VERMONT..... $186.94
NEW YORK..... $186.78
PENNSYLVANIA..... $173.66
NEBRASKA..... $166.85
ILLINOIS..... $136.37
OHIO..... $132.88
MAINE..... $131.32
INDIANA..... $119.27
MICHIGAN..... $117.60
IOWA..... $106.51
KANSAS..... $97.63
MINNESOTA..... $92.71
WISCONSIN..... $91.66