1. Jenny Wahl Economics Department Carleton College
Understanding and Teaching the Roots of the Civil War EDS 112 Summer Institute 2009
Jenny Wahl
Economics Department
Carleton College

2. Influence of Regional Portfolio Composition
Land use
Population density
Urbanization
Farm size
Production process
(output = f[asset inputs])
Output mix
Types of agricultural products
Agriculture vs. manufacturing
Home consumption, domestic market, exports
Generation and use of public funds
Land sales vs. tariffs
Internal improvements
Transportation regimes
Credit and banking institutions
Asset Composition
Land (immobile)
Physical capital (partly mobile)
Slaves (generally mobile) 
Free human capital (mobile)
Climate (immobile)

4. The Shift from Indentured Servants to Slaves
Skilled labor
price D0 D1
Sslaves
Sservants
Unskilled labor
price D0 D1
Sslaves
Sservants

5. Distribution of Population (1790, 1830,1860) and Land Mass
Note: Northeast= New England and MidAtlantic, South includes Texas and Oklahoma but not Missouri, West includes Midwest, Plains, Mountain, and Pacific.
Sources:

6. Distribution of Population (1860) and Land Mass, Part 2
Slaveholding states had 38% of the total population
Slaveholding states had 29% of the total white population
Border states had 1/3 of the white population in slaveholding states
Land Mass
Territories 49%
North 23%
South 23%
Border 5%
Sources:

7. Population per square mile, 1850 and 1860, selected states
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics Series A-196 (reported in Gavin Wright, Political Economy of the Cotton South)

8. Percentage of Population in Urban Area, by Region (1790, 1830, 1860)
Note: Northeast= New England and MidAtlantic, South includes Texas and Oklahoma but not Missouri, West includes Midwest, Plains, Mountain, and Pacific.
Source: Tab Aa36-92, Historical Statistics of the U.S., Millennial Edition online.

9. Urban Population, 1860
Source: US Census, reprinted in Roger Ransom entry, Historical Statistics Millennial edition online.

10. Source: U.S. Census, various years.

12. Location of Foreign-Born, 1860
North -- 86%
NY – 24.4%
PA – 10.5%
OH, IL – 8% each
WI – 7%
MA – 6%
South --13%
Border states of MO, MD, and KY %
LA – 2%
TX – 1%
Source: U.S. Census, 1860.

13. Wealth of Farmers by Region, 1860

15. Improved Acreage and Value of Implements per Worker by Region, 1860

16. Source: Gavin Wright, Capitalism and Slavery on the Islands: A Lesson from the Mainland, 17 J. Interdisc. Hist. 851 (1987).

17. Distribution of Slave Population by State, 1860
Source: Table Bb , Historical Statistics; fisher.uva census browser.

18. Total Value of U.S. Slaves, 1810-1860
Source: Ransom and Sutch, Capitalists without Capital.

19. Average Value, U.S. Prime Male Slaves, 1843-1860
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
1858
1859
1860
year
dollars
sales price
appraised value
Source: Robert Fogel and Stanley Engerman. Slave Sales and Appraisals, [Computer file]. ICPSR07421-v3. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester [producer], 1976.

20. Productivity of Southern Farms Relative to Northern Farms, 1860

21. Slave Ownership in the South
Percentage of families owning slaves:
1830 – 36%
1850 – 31%
1860 – 25% (half owned fewer than 5, 90% owned fewer than , only 0.2% held 100 or more slaves)
Percentage of farm owner-operators owning no slaves:
1850 – fewer than 40%
1860 – about 50%
Sources: Gavin Wright, Political Economy of the Cotton South; Porter, Encyclopedia.

22. Per Capita Income by Region, 1840 and 1860 ($ 1860)

23. Sectoral Shares, U.S.,

24. Size of U.S. Manufactures by Industry, 1860

25. Importance of Manufacturing by Region, 1860
Source: 8th and 9th Census of Mfrs, cited in Wright Pol Econ of Cotton South 1978

26. Value Added in Manufacturing per Capita, 1850 and 1860, Southern States

27. American Production of Raw Cotton, 1790-1860 (bales)

28. Cotton and Slaves,1805-1860 (output/slave, slave price, cotton export price)

30. Trade in Manufactures and Cotton, 1830-1860
Source: Historical Stats; tables Ee and Ee

31. Effects of Import Tariff

32. U.S. Import Tariffs,

33. Some Summary Stats by Region, 1860
Sources: Easterlin 1961, Bateman and Weiss, Fishlow – reported in Lindstrom, Dom Trade, Am Ec Hist Encyclo