Date of Award
2009
Thesis Type
Open Access
Degree Name
Master of Liberal Studies
Advisor(s)
Claire Strom
Abstract
The root of large-scale human conflict is the protection of economic interests. The economic motivations for the South to secede clashed with the interests of the North in preserving the trade relationships that existed. In choosing the path that led to conflict over peace, decision-makers leaned towards what they believed would be most profitable on the margins. The financial viability of a southern Confederacy was contingent upon the successful separation of Gulf states from the Union. The economic interests generated by Florida's Gulf ports provided a strong incentive for the state to secede, for the emerging Confederacy to support that secession, and for the United States government to resist it with force.
Recommended Citation
Robbins, Michael P., "The Ports of Secession: The Economics of Florida Ports in the Secession Crisis" (2009). Master of Liberal Studies Theses. 36.
https://scholarship.rollins.edu/mls/36
Included in
American Studies Commons, Economic History Commons, Political History Commons, United States History Commons