Slavery was certainly part of it, as slave economies require territorial expansion to sustain themselves. Every confederate state being able to make it's own foreign policy was the larger concern. With the means and the motive, had the confederacy been left alone, a subtropical empire stretching from the pacific ocean to the Caribbean would have likely developed. The dairies of influential southerners after General Lee surrendered, laying out their reasons to resist and hopes for the future, was what changed my mind about the trope that the civil war was only about slavery.
Thanks for the explanation. So funny how something so logical sounding is not taught in our schools.
Why do slave economies require territorial expansion?
The idea that confederate states wanted to make their own foreign policy is so interesting. I suppose implicit in that is because they have different imports and exports for the simple difference of climate and crops.
As the number of slaves increase, the price of labor decreases. As the price of labor decreases, the price of land increases. Territorial expansion decreases the price of land, and the cycle continues. Once expansion ceases, the upper classes gobble up the land and subsidies to placate the poor begin. Bread and Circus as it's called. The power of the land magnate begins to exceed the power of the state and the unrest of unemployed citizens only worsens
Another driving force was that disease in the Caribbean caused infertility and very low birth rates in slaves. A greater conquest would provide somewhere to permanently export continental slaves to
Slavery was certainly part of it, as slave economies require territorial expansion to sustain themselves. Every confederate state being able to make it's own foreign policy was the larger concern. With the means and the motive, had the confederacy been left alone, a subtropical empire stretching from the pacific ocean to the Caribbean would have likely developed. The dairies of influential southerners after General Lee surrendered, laying out their reasons to resist and hopes for the future, was what changed my mind about the trope that the civil war was only about slavery.
Thanks for the explanation. So funny how something so logical sounding is not taught in our schools.
Why do slave economies require territorial expansion?
The idea that confederate states wanted to make their own foreign policy is so interesting. I suppose implicit in that is because they have different imports and exports for the simple difference of climate and crops.
As the number of slaves increase, the price of labor decreases. As the price of labor decreases, the price of land increases. Territorial expansion decreases the price of land, and the cycle continues. Once expansion ceases, the upper classes gobble up the land and subsidies to placate the poor begin. Bread and Circus as it's called. The power of the land magnate begins to exceed the power of the state and the unrest of unemployed citizens only worsens
Another driving force was that disease in the Caribbean caused infertility and very low birth rates in slaves. A greater conquest would provide somewhere to permanently export continental slaves to
Cool story. Not being sarcastic lol.