W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
“Slavery – the one cause of the Civil War.” – John Stuart Mill, 1862
Can there be a doubt concerning this topic? Certainly the American Civil War was about the slavery issue… wasn’t it? Well actually, one of the greatest popular myths in our history is that the Civil War was started because of slavery and that Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, started a terrible war to sever the chains of bondage that shackled over three million black Americans. Just prior to the war, the South had all it could have wanted.
In 1860, Southerners held the Supreme Court and Lincoln and Congress were beginning the process of passing a constitutional amendment to keep slavery forever! What happened?
We should move the clock back to the year 1832. By 1832 the national debt from the War of 1812 had been re-paid and the South didn’t see a need to continue the exorbitant import taxes that seemed to only raise price tags for the South’s consumers. Either the South paid high import taxes on imported goods or it bought Northern manufactured goods at terribly overpriced prices. Either way, the South’s funds transferred to the North. To say the least, the South was not happy with this arrangement. If you are feeling the pressure with today’s taxes, call a CPA for Tax Preparation in Raleigh, NC for all your tax-related needs!
So, in 1832 a convention was held in South Carolina to get rid of these federal import taxes. The South decided the tax was unconstitutional and authorized the governor to resist the enforcement of these taxes instituted by the national government. It seemed like a civil war was in the making. Mild tempers won over, however, and the Great Compromise of 1833 lowered import taxes over the next several years to an area the South could tolerate. Go here if you want help with a modern-day Tax Return in Raleigh, NC.
Over the ensuing years, however, Northern corporate and manufacturer interests forced through Congress more taxes that again stressed Southern planters and allowed Northern Manufacturers to become rich once again. In 1850, John C. Calhoun, the South’s greatest outstanding spokesman, gave a speech to Congress. It listed three wrongs done to the South that may lead to secession from the Union and war. The first two involved fears concerning the gradual decline of power of the South in general and the states as well.
The third, and really the only concrete grievance, was about tax policy. In Calhoun’s view, federal import taxes was a class legislation against the South. Heavy taxation on the South raised funds that were used in the North. The focus of economic strength in the United States was steadily changing strongly to the North. Calhoun spoke of secession if the taxes weren’t lowered. But what about the slavery issue? Well, during his campaign for the presidency in 1860, Lincoln repeatedly said he wouldn’t do anything about slavery in the South. Truly, most Northerners did not really care about enslaved blacks, any more than they cared about the Indian in the West or impoverished illiterate workers in factories. By and large many black slaves received substantially better quality treatment and more compassion than their working-class counterparts in the North. Lincoln, actually, told Southern plantation-owners that run-away slaves would be caught. The Congress and then the Supreme Court (Dred Scott decision) continually acknowledged that slavery wasn’t going anywhere.
But, right as Lincoln was elected and Congress came together in 1861, they enacted new high import tariffs. Slavery wasn’t the problem – higher import taxes were. In his inaugural address Lincoln said he would go get the customs in the South even if there was a secession!
Fort Sumter, near the entrance of the Charleston Harbor, began filling with federal troops to enforce the collection of the new taxes. The Civil War started in 1861 when South Carolinians shot at the federal garrison at Fort Sumter. The conflict had been stewing for years – but it wasn’t about the slaves. It was about tax policy.
2 years after that, Lincoln put into action the Emancipation Proclamation, and then only following several military defeats, as the last resort to rally the North to a noble cause. With respect to the slave issue – the majority of the North cared little concerning black people in bondage, no more than they cared about Native-Americans to the west and the impoverished illiterate peasants in the factories. For the most part, many black slaves received better treatment and more compassion than their impoverished counterparts in the North.
That’s it for the History of Taxes Series!
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