Traders or Traitors: Northern Cotton Trading During the Civil War

USS ALASKA

Captain
Joined
Mar 16, 2016
Traders or Traitors: Northern Cotton Trading During the Civil War

David G. Surdam
Department of Economics Loyola University of Chicago

Conclusions
The tightening Federal naval blockade created potential for spectacular profits for those who could obtain and transport cotton cheaply. A total ban on trade would have only magnified the potential profits and would have likely created a greater impetus for illicit smuggling and its attendant evils. Lincoln wanted to use cotton, and perhaps he believed that even greed could be used to further the national interest. Lincoln, himself, was scrupulous about his personal finances [French, 1989, p. 382; Donald, 1995, p. 313, 325]. Why did a man with such personal integrity eventually countenance a system that became rife with abuse and corruption? Why did he grant favored treatment to so many friends and associates in obtaining permits? In comparison, Jefferson Davis was so strict regarding cotton that he didn't help his older brother, Joseph, in preserving their stocks of cotton from being burned [Hermann, 1990, p. 105]. In an ironic twist, General Grant saw and condemned the corruption inherent in the trade, but later he became renown for an administration characterized by his associates' corruption. Lincoln oversaw a system whereby his associates gained even at the possible cost of prolonging the war, but we revere him as "Honest" Abe. Lincoln was at least sensitive to the potential scandal from the cotton trade. On some instances he refused to issue permits because of the impropriety involved. Still, the cotton trade, with its attendant profitability, probably posed too great a temptation for any set of men to avoid some sinful behavior; Lincoln was not surrounded by saints. Moreover, the attempts to get cotton and the methods for apportioning permits served critical local interests. Massachusetts and New York were critical states for the Republicans in 1864. The Massachusetts cotton textile manufacturers needed cotton to stay in business, and Lincoln was loathe to abandon them. New York was not safely Republican, and Lincoln needed to insure the support of men such as Thufiow Weed (Lincoln won the state by fewer than 7,000 votes). But satisfying local interests was a risky strategy. Grant's military strategy was to pin Lee down and starve him out by cutting the supply lines from the South; by allowing the trading of food supplies for cotton in southern Virginia, Lincoln's cotton policies were undermining Grant's strategy at a time when war-weariness was at its peak. By helping Massachusetts and New York manufacturers and traders, Lincoln was putting the war effort at risk. Fortunately for him, his military leaders won vital victories before the 1864 election, maintaining the Union cause, but the margin for error was slender.


http://www.thebhc.org/sites/default/files/beh/BEHprint/v028n2/p0301-p0312.pdf

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 

Attachments

  • Traders or Traitors Northern Cotton Trading During the Civil War.pdf
    660.8 KB · Views: 107
You must log in or register to view this reply.
 
You must log in or register to view this reply.
 
You must log in or register to view this reply.
 
Back
Top