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| The battle over tariffs played a major role in regional antagonism culminating in the Civil War, |
Everyone has heard the old adage, “Follow the money,” which
recognizes the major impact economic issues play in any dispute. And the Bible itself warns that “Love of money
is the root of all evils.” It also played a large role in the Civil War. Eli
Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin made slavery more economically desirable for the cotton planters because cotton could be processed more easily and required many pickers to feed the
gin. And cotton was indeed “king” economically accounting for more than 50% of
U.S. exports at the time. Since importing slaves was banned by federal law in 1808, one result of the cotton gin was the transfer of slaves from the northern Dixie states to plantations in the deep South.
