jhendon5The South was providing about 75% of federal revenue via taxes and trade tariffs, the majority of which was being spent in the North. The Morill Tariff was passed by Congress in 1861, a few days before Lincoln’s inauguration and signed into law by President Buchanan. The Bill immediately raised the average tariff rate from about 15% to 38% and expanded the list of items the tariff applied to. Shortly thereafter the tariff rate was raised again to 48%. That money flowed to the federal government and, just like today, is used to grant all kinds of favors in exchange for power and influence.
In his first inaugural address Lincoln stated that he would collect all tariffs and imposts: “In doing this there needs to be no bloodshed or violence, and there shall be none unless it be forced upon the national authority. The power confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the Government and to collect the duties and imposts; but beyond what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere.”
With regard to slavery, many countries had eliminated slavery without going to war; only the U.S. and Haiti resorted to war. Great Britain had emancipated its slaves by buying them from slave holders. Lincoln, on the other hand, killed between 600,00 and 800,000 Americans (by proportion to today’s American population a death toll of about 6 million!) and destroyed about half the economy.
Look at a picture of the Lincoln Memorial. Beneath each of Lincoln’s hands is a fasces; fasces is the root of the word fascist and a symbol closely associated with Imperial Rome, Hitler and Mussolini.