Slave prices would have declined after 1860, even without the war.

wausaubob

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I should not put words in Prof. Wright's paper, but his conclusions are important.
https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/21982/0000392.pdf?sequence=1
I think that this consistent with Sherman's view, but I cannot recall the exact quote.
The cotton boom made the South the cotton equivalent of the Oil emirates, and made both cotton and slavery look like the inevitable pathway to fame, fortune and happiness.
But the demand for cotton was not going to continue to grow as rapidly as it had, and the price after 1865 was only stable because so much labor had been withdrawn from the cotton system.
Over supply, under employment, and unemployment, were coming. The boom was moving westward, and the Atlantic states were participating by selling slaves westward.
 
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