Page 11 - Beyond the Capacity of Any Man

This paper, though not a defense of Memminger, attempts to lessen the
force of Ball’s criticisms. It illustrates a number of contentious social, economic,
and political factors that the Secretary competed with in his day-to-day affairs.
Memminger’s financial policy was constantly at odds with a House and Senate
comprised of 40 percent planters. The antebellum South’s tax burden was so
light that wartime taxation schemes came as a shock. Individual states
questioned the power of the central government to tax. As for loan subscriptions,
planter patriotism only went so far. Planters wanted to sell their goods for the
best price. If the government could not oblige, they went elsewhere. In short,
the Confederacy, a newly established nation at war, had an economic structure
and mindset too primitive for a sophisticated financial policy. Given these
factors, this paper will argue that the scope and talent needed to pursue an
effective financial policy within the Confederacy was beyond the capacity of any
man.

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