The main idea presented in the article was the problem of raising money to fund the civil war. The south was in a deeper financial crisis than the north during the civil war, which raised the propping question on “how do you build a war chest in the middle of a war?” (Kreiser 3). The author claims that during the war, the confederacy was in serious need of money to fund the war because the south could not sell cotton to European markets because the union had blocked the southern harbors, which provided access to the sea and a direct route to Europe.
The only source for the confederacy to raise money were to seize food and materials from the citizens. The south was in a dilemma because most of the wealth was tied up in slaves, land and little cash was available to buy government bonds. The union was also in serious need of money to fund the war.
Among the interesting ideas discussed in the article were the new currencies introduced to facilitate the monetary transactions of the exchange of goods and services, which were used by the north as an opportunity to strengthen its ties with the union. In addition, the personal intervention of the treasury secretary Christopher Memminger that kept the government in the south on its feet is another interesting idea, which shows the devotion and convictions of the people about the war.
According to Kreiser, new ideas were represented during and after the war (23). Those ideas were the introduction of new currencies and fiscal ways of conducting transactions across different states using standardized banking practices.
Works Cited
Kreiser, Christine, M.” Cash for combat”. America’s Civil War, 24.4 (2011), p. 1-20. Print.