Trivia 04-06-2020 Show Me The Money!

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How much $$ did the U.S. Government spend a day on fighting the war?

credit: @scone
It depends upon how that expenditure is defined and what costs are included. Even then, sources vary, giving greatly different costs.
I. According to the U. S. Department of Commerce, approximately $8,860,000.
The total estimated expenditure was $12,952,000,000 over the period from April 12, 1861, to April 13, 1865 (1462 days) so that the average daily estimated expenditure was $8,859,097.13.
<Department of Commerce, Historical Statistics of the United States from Colonial Times to 1970, Part 2, 1975, Chapter Y, p. 1140. https://www2.census.gov/library/pub...ial-1970/hist_stats_colonial-1970p2-chY.pdf?#>.
II. According to an often-quoted Harvard Study by Golden and Lewis, approximately $2,302,000
Golden and Lewis calculated the Direct Cost of the war as follows:
1. Expenditure by the Federal Government: $1,805,597,000
2. Expenditure by State and Local Government: $485,673,000
3. Additional Cost due to the Draft: $11,035,000
4. Human Capital Loss:
a. Killed: $954,922,000
b. Wounded: $364,734,000
5. Less risk Premium in Soldiers' Wage Bills: -$256,115,000
6. Total Direct Cost: $3,365,846,000
For an average daily estimated cost of $2,302,220.
<Claudia D. Golden and Frank D. Lewis, The Economic Cost of the American Civil War: Estimates and Implications. p. 304. http://nrs.Harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:2662305>
III. According to Selcer, quoting data from Thomas C. Cochran, Concise Dictionary of American History, approximately $9,793,000
Selcer estimates the total cost at approximately $14,317,000,000. He includes:

1. Net Military Cost: $3,183,000,000
2. Debt Interest: $2,593,000
3. Veterans' Benefits: $8,541,000,000
4. Total Cost: $14,317,000,000 (Less Veterans' Benefits: $5,776,000,000; Less Debt Interest: $14,314,407,000)
For an average daily estimated cost of $9,792,750 (Less Veterans' Benefits: $3,950,752; Less Interest: $9,790,976).
<Richard F. Selcer, Civil War America, 1850-1875. (New York: Infobase Publishing, Inc., 2006), p. 247.>
 
In the middle of 1861, the US government spent $1.5 million each day, by 1865 $3.5 million. (Source: https://www.barrons.com/articles/SB50001424052970203990104576191061207786514 (third paragraph)) If you add both numbers and divide the sum by 2, you get an average of $2.5 million each day which is identical to:
1586205980846.png
 
answer: report from congress in 1863 … the cost of fighting the war 2.5 million a day

Source Civil War Quiz and Factbook by Rod Gragg

Edit - The answer to the question depends on the time period you want to look at - the beginning of the war, the end of the war, the midpoint of the war, all four years put together, or all four years put together plus veterans' benefits paid long after the war was over. This was not specified in the question.

I believe everybody's answer was supported by one source or another, so everyone who responded will get credit for a correct answer.

hoosier
 
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