Replies

Walter Williams states that the 1859 tariff revenue was 75% from southern states.

Of course that was under the 1857 tariff act that was put through at the request of the southern representatives. Accordingly, the low tariff could not be used as an excuse for insurrection and war.

By contrast the Morill tariff had higher duties, and the fees were a fixed amount for certain items. The law was written that way because the tariff act of 1857 charged a fixed percent of the putative value of items, and importers routinely cheated by reporting low values for their imports as they paid the tariff.

The Morill tariff was written in part by Davis, of Maryland, and passed after the southern representatives withdrew to support the insurrection. Accordingly, the tariff could not have been a cause of war, as it was not in place as they started their war. Lincoln, though supporting the tariff, did not sign it as he was not president when it was passed. Accordingly, the tariff could not be Lincoln’s fault, and the insurrection began before Lincoln took office.

So, why did the Slave Power commit insurrection and declare war?

the OlLine Rebel: "Looked for Walt Williams’ column."

These Lincoln quotes from Walter Williams have all been posted on Free Republic threads many times, by our pro-Confederates, as if the quotes were great and shocking revelations, which should convince everyone that Lincoln was a monster, not a saint.

In fact, Lincoln's quotes simply reflect the views of your average anti-slavery northerner in those days.
Yes, most northerners hated slavery, but not because they loved slaves, just the opposite.

They hated the institution of slavery because it represented a clear and growing competitive threat to their own high-priced "free labor".
Any work which slaves could do well, drove down the value and drove out the work of relatively unskilled white workers.

And over many years slaves became increasingly valuable, expanding into many different lines of work, driving out free white workers.
That's why northerners would not stand for letting slavery expand into states or territories where it did not already exist.

So Lincoln's quotes are unremarkable for his time.
But what is notable is that: mild as Lincoln's views were towards slavery, they were totally unacceptable to the Southern Slave-Power.
Those people called Lincoln a "Black Republican", warned that if he were elected president, they would secede, and then immediately did so, beginning the process within a few days in early November 1860.

But the one thing Williams said which I'm certain is flat-out wrong comes at the very end:

"During the 1850s, tariffs amounted to 90 percent of federal revenue.
Southern ports paid 75 percent of tariffs in 1859."

This subject has been debated many times on these threads, by people more knowledgeable than I am, but the bottom line is that (to pick a year, say in 1859), the nation's largest ports were New York, Philadelphia, Boston & Baltimore all serving populous northern states (Baltimore served Ohio and points west via the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad).
Yes, Southern ports like New Orleans and Charleston were somewhat important, but they in no possible way accounted for, in William's words "75% of tariffs in 1859".
A better estimate would be 25%.

So William's suggestion that Civil War was all or only about tariffs, amounts to nothing more than pro-Confederate propaganda.