Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation: The Economics of the Civil War (The American Crisis Series: Books on the Civil War Era) [Paperback]

Robert B. Ekelund Jr. (Author), Mark Thornton (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0842029613 | ISBN-13: 978-0842029612 | Publication Date: January 1, 2004

What role did economics play in leading the United States into the Civil War in the 1860s, and how did the war affect the economies of the North and the South? Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation uses contemporary economic analyses such as supply and demand, modern market theory, and the economics of politics to interpret events of the Civil War.

Simplifying the sometimes complex intricacies of the subject matter, Thornton and Ekelund have penned a nontechnical primer that is jargon-free and accessible. Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation also takes a comprehensive approach to its topic. It offers a cohesive and a persuasive explanation of the how, what, and why behind the many factors at work on both sides of the contest. While most books only delve into a particular aspect of the war, this title effectively bridges the gap by offering an all-encompassing, yet relatively brief, introduction to the essential economics of the Civil War.

This book starts out with a look at the reasons for the beginning of the Civil War, including explaining why the war began when it did. It then examines the economic realities in both the North and South. Also covered are the different financial strategies implemented by both the Union and the Confederacy to fund the war and the reasons behind what ultimately led to Southern defeat. Finally, the economic effect of Reconstruction is discussed, including the impact it had on the former slave population.

Thornton and Ekelund have contributed an overdue examination of the Civil War that will impart to students a modern way to better comprehend the conflict. Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation offers fresh, penetrating insights into this pivotal event in American history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A readable, enjoyable treatise that introduces the works of many economists operating under the Austrian approach. (Eh.Net )

The authors have an important story to tell. Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation: The Economics of the Civil War is well done and presents important economic concepts, analyses of the blockades, the efforts of both sides to finance the war, and the consequences of the war. This new text will be useful in courses on the Civil War and American economic history. (Glenn Linden )

An extremely penetrating work that broadens our understanding of the great sectional conflict we call the Civil War—a war that not only changed forever the cultural fabric of the United States but inexorably altered the government established by the Farmers. (Chronicles )

Mark Thornton and Robert Ekelund, Jr. manage, within the covers of a slim volume, to supply fresh insights into the economic and political forces that led to war, contributed to the Confederacy's defeat, and shifted governmental power permanently toward the center. . . . Consistently spirited and thought-provoking, Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation is a distinctive addition to the literature on the Civil War and to economic history more generally. . . . [Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation] breaks new ground in applying neoclassical economic theory and public choice reasoning to the analysis of a pivotal and endlessly fascinating period in U.S. history. . . . Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation is must reading for public choice economists, economic historians, and students who want-or can be assigned to want-a concise, user-friendly introduction to economic principles and their application. (William F. Shughart II Public Choice 2005 )

In concise and clear prose Professors Mark Thornton and Robert Ekelund use basic economics to explain the causes, outcome, and consequences of the Civil War. (John Majewski The Freeman: Ideas On Liberty )

Want to know why the South lost the Civil War? The answer is in this delightful, scholarly book. (Robert Tollison )

For readers unfamiliar with the Austrian approach to economics, the two authors offer a readable, enjoyable treatise that introduces the works of many economists operating under the Austrian approach. . . . The authors have capably introduced readers to the burgeoning corpus of Austrian analysis of the war. (David G. Surdam Eh. Net )

Mark Thornton and Robert B. Ekelund, Jr. have written a concise synthesis of economic change during the Civil War. (Jane Flaherty H-Civwar )

About the Author

Mark Thornton is senior fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute and book review editor of the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. Robert B. Ekelund, Jr., is the Edward K. and Catherine L. Lowder Eminent Scholar at Auburn University and Vernon F. Taylor Visiting Distinguished Professor at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 116 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0842029613
• ISBN-13: 978-0842029612
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #439,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The actually not dismal science, February 16, 2004

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This review is from: Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation: The Economics of the Civil War (The American Crisis Series: Books on the Civil War Era) (Paperback)

I bought this book with the intention that it should complement and supplement previously read works on the "Civil War", eg.: Tom DiLorenzo's Lincoln, Jeffrey Hummel's Emancipation and Enslavement, and Charles Adams' When in the Course. It didn't disappoint. Although it is strictly an economic look at the war, it is a Human Action type (self-interest) economics. Stats and graphs add to the text, they don't overwhelm it.

The highlights---Slavery a factor, yes, but as an economic issue, much more than a moral issue. Tariffs a factor, yes, but the uncertainty about future rates, with the election of Republican Lincoln, more than the immediate antebellum rates. The Anaconda Plan worked, yes, but with a great assist from the South with its impressments, embargo, and "luxury" taxes, the Rhett Butler effect. The relationship between the financing of the war (a lot of inflation,yes) and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. When one ponders today's current account deficit, the Civil War's economics do not represent the distant past.

All in all, a book of around 160 pages including introduction,index and bibliography full of interesting interpretations of things which I thought I knew so well, yet didn't.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An unusual, important analysis, May 3, 2004

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation: The Economics of the Civil War (The American Crisis Series: Books on the Civil War Era) (Paperback)

The collaborative effort of Mark Thornton and Robert Ekelund Jr., Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation blends contemporary economic analysis and modern market theory with a history of the Civil War era to provide a comprehensive approach to Civil War history. From analysis of why and how the war began as it did to chapters contrasting the different underlying economic concerns of North and South before, during and after conflict, this provides an unusual, important analysis.