Lecture series · recorded 2005
The Economics of the Civil War
The Economics of the Civil War is a free lecture series (8 recordings, 10.3 hours) you can stream or download at freecapitalists.org, with Mark Thornton.
Mark Thornton offers a series of eight lectures presented to the Auburn University Academy for Lifelong Learners.
U.S. HistoryWar and Foreign PolicyU.S. EconomyMoney and Banks
Cover painting: Jefferson Davis throws coins to rioting women during the Richmond Bread Riot, Virginia, April 1863. See every painting in the art gallery.
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01
1:14:18 Download MP3
How Did the North Win? 2005
The Economics of the Civil War should instruct us in ways that the history of the Civil War might not. Cotton had much to do with what the war was about. Slavery as a cause of the Civil War is a modern development. How did the Union win the war? How did the aftermath of the war affect our own lives? What lessons can benefit us? The blockade was the source of the Union victory. As it became more and more effective, the Union position strengthened until the last port in North Carolina fell. So, it was the war at sea, not on land that determined the outcome. Lecture 1 of 8 from Mark Thornton’s The Economics of the Civil War , presented to the Auburn University Academy for Lifelong Learners.
U.S. HistoryWar and Foreign Policy
Read the transcript 8,173 words
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02
1:21:32 Download MP3
Economic Tools for Understanding the War 2005
Opportunity cost is the proper economic basis for specialization and trade in resources. Opportunity cost is the highest value you give up when you make a choice. It was Confederate government policy that caused misallocations on the part of the South, making it inefficient and wasteful. A few of those bad policies were: drafting soldiers, confiscating resources, and monetary inflation. Rent-seeking and interest groups are also tools. They speak to why the North and the South split up in the first place. The key to understanding the Civil War was resource allocation. It was greed for resources not grievances between races. The South produced tobacco and cotton and they fought for these tradable exports. Lecture 2 of 8 from Mark Thornton’s The Economics of the Civil War , presented to the Auburn University Academy for Lifelong Learners.
Philosophy and MethodologyU.S. EconomyU.S. HistoryWar and Foreign Policy
Read the transcript 9,412 words
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03
1:15:47 Download MP3
The Union Blockade and Southern Strategy 2005
Tariffs were generally favorable for the North and unfavorable for the South. They were a key political battle for forty years. The Union General Scott developed the anaconda plan to squeeze the breath out of the South. The Union Blockade was the first part of that plan. This battle at sea won the war for the Union. The land battle was a stalemate.
U.S. EconomyU.S. HistoryWar and Foreign Policy
Read the transcript 8,269 words
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04
56:23 Download MP3
The Rhett Butler Effect 2005
Blockade boat owners turned to engines for speed instead of sails. Blockade running became more expensive as the blockade became stricter. Certain prices increased much faster and higher. Most goods desired in the South had to be imported. Luxuries were available, but necessities were not, because the fixed costs of transportation made it more profitable to ship high end goods rather than low end. Essentially, luxury items became cheaper to import relative to necessities. This was the Rhett Butler Effect which was really the blockade effect. Lecture 4 of 8 from Mark Thornton’s The Economics of the Civil War , presented to the Auburn University Academy for Lifelong Learners.
U.S. HistoryWar and Foreign Policy
Read the transcript 6,284 words
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05
1:17:55 Download MP3
Confederate Blockade of the South 2005
The Confederate government blockaded the Southern economy by bad policies like impressment and trying to run the blockade themselves. The government declared that fifty percent of all cargo space had to be for the Confederate government. Lecture 5 of 8 from Mark Thornton’s The Economics of the Civil War , presented to the Auburn University Academy for Lifelong Learners.
U.S. EconomyU.S. HistoryWar and Foreign Policy
Read the transcript 8,761 words
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06
1:27:18 Download MP3
Inflation: North and South 2005
Inflation is a giant rip off, a stealth tax stealing purchasing power. Money is not neutral. The first receivers of new money benefit. Savers and those on fixed incomes struggle. From 1857 until the war was a period of “free banking” where the fed had nothing to do with the banks and the states had little control over them. High economic growth and prosperity prevailed.
Capital and Interest TheoryMoney and BankingMoney and BanksWar and Foreign Policy
Read the transcript 8,883 words
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07
1:26:01 Download MP3
The Cost and Consequences of the Civil War 2005
There was a sea change in money and banking in the U.S. as a result of the Civil War. Government became the primary regulator. Metal coins gave way to paper. Mistakes of one bank infected others – it was contagion.
Austrian Economics OverviewPolitical TheoryU.S. HistoryWar and Foreign Policy
Read the transcript 9,843 words
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08
1:17:03 Download MP3
The Civil War and the Growth of Government 2005
Black reconstruction after the Civil War did much better than the dire predictions made. The black population recovered quickly. Many moved to urban areas. They deliberately had fewer children. Mortality declined. Income increased. No government assistance was handed out.
Political TheoryU.S. HistoryWar and Foreign Policy
Read the transcript 8,523 words
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Recording dates, summaries and topics for 8 of these 8 lectures come from the Mises Institute's page for The Economics of the Civil War, checked 2026-09-27.
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About this series
- Is The Economics of the Civil War free to listen to?
- Yes. All 8 mirrored recordings stream in the browser or download as audio, at no cost and with no signup.
- How long is The Economics of the Civil War?
- 8 recordings, 10.3 hours in total.
- Who lectures in The Economics of the Civil War?
- Mark Thornton.
- When was The Economics of the Civil War recorded?
- 2005, per the recording dates recovered for this series.
- Is there a transcript of The Economics of the Civil War?
- Yes. Every lecture in the series has one, 68,148 words in total, free to read on each lecture's page and searchable in the browser.
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