Also I heard all the former Confederate States had to pay a tax so the Union would recover from the economical losses of war, is that so?
Anonymous
Favorite Answer
They lost their money. Confederate dollars lost value rapidly as the war went on. People who bought Confederate war bonds and such lost a lot of money. Robert E Lee saw his family fortune wiped out because of this (he also had the family estate, really his wife's estate, confiscated and turned into Arlington National Cemetery). Confederate slaveowners also lost massive amounts of wealth through emancipation. The end of slavery was, at the same time, both the greatest humanitarian act in American history and the greatest destruction of property.
Prior to the Civil War, the South had been the wealthiest part of the country. After the war it became the poorest. It remains the poorest region to this day.
Athena
They lost the war and they lost their money.
Anonymous
Those who bought the war bonds and other forms of paper money were ruined. Those who had gold and silver coins still had some precious metals.
Gray Bold
When the Union blockaded its ports in summer 1861, exports of cotton fell 95 percent and the South had to restructure itself to emphasize food production and munitions production. After losing control of its main rivers and ports, it had to depend on a weak railroad system that, with few repairs being made, no new equipment, and federal raids, crumbled away. The financial infrastructure collapsed during the war as inflation destroyed banks and forced a move toward a barter economy for civilians. The government seized needed supplies and livestock (paying with certificates that were to be paid off after the war, but never were). By 1865 the economy was in ruins.
?
I have a New Orleans gold $20 from 1858 and Philadelphia gold $10 from 1800. Even Confederate Southerners had physical gold and Silver then. Most Southern people would not use or accept paper money. I have seen gold $20 double eagles engraved on the reverse with writing from New Orleans in 1855. Not only that but wealthy Southern women wore $10 gold coins in necklaces from as early as 1797. Before the Civil War many Southern people were wealthy. I am a numismatist. If you are looking for some good investments put some money into New Orleans gold. Best years are 1854-O and 1856-O ($20)