Economic Costs of the Civil War

Aimee Chanhatasilpa

SLM521 – Sp 05

3/12/05

Directions:

1. Visit EH.Net Encyclopedia for Civil War economics information.
2. Answer questions using your background knowledge of information from class and the text at the EH site.
3. Answer the questions below on your answer sheet, writing complete sentences.

A. Scroll on the EH link to find Table 3: “The Costs of the Civil War”

Direct Costs:

1. Although the South physically suffered more than the North in the Civil War list at least two reasons why you think the North still had higher overall direct costs.

2. State your opinion on why per capita costs of the war are higher in the South than the North, but it’s the South whose total costs were lower.

Indirect Costs:

3.Explain in your own words that where the war was largely fought affected the consumption of the South and less so the North.

B. Scroll on the EH link to find Table 4: “Indices of Prices and Real Wages During the Civil War”

4. Explain in solely economic terms why the Northern economy was able to avoid more sever inflation.

5. List three ways the Civil War disrupted the economy of the South as shown on the table.

6. Use the information from the table and your background knowledge of the war to explain which side, North or South, would economically recover faster from the war.