krebscycle

Protecting slavery and prohibiting government assistance for economic development – that’s most of what the Slave states changed when they seceded and came up with a modified “Confederate” constitution based on the actual US constitution.The leaders of the Confederacy wanted a nation composed of  slaves, poor white people to be sharecroppers, overseers, and cannon fodder, and a few wealthy white landowners. They did not want their cotton business, based on cheap and slave labor to pay any taxes. In fact, the tax and economy parts of the Confederate Constitution are nearly word for word the program of modern “conservatives” who have basically the same goals.

no bounties shall be granted from the Treasury; nor shall any duties or taxes on importations from foreign nations be laid to promote or foster any branch of industry;

The Confederates knew, as did the earliest American governments, that protecting manufacturing against “dumping” and “fostering” new technologies and methods was essential for growing local industry. But did they want manufacturing industries offering workers higher wages or creating a middle class that would have scruples about slavery? Did they want to share costs of giving the country  a prosperous manufacturing economy? Low taxes and low wages have always been the Confederate goals. The Commerce Clause of the constitution – the one that right wing supreme court members think has been allowed to let the Federal government regulate too much of the economy – the Confederates didn’t “legislate from the bench” to support that view: they just changed the wording and added this statement.

; but neither this, nor any other clause contained in the Constitution, shall ever be construed to delegate the power to Congress to appropriate money for any internal improvement intended to facilitate commerce; except for the purpose of furnishing lights, beacons, and buoys, and other aids to navigation upon the coasts, and the improvement of harbors and the removing of obstructions in river navigation; in all which cases such duties shall be laid on the navigation facilitated thereby as may be necessary to pay the costs and expenses thereof.

Federal government spending on roads, trains, or education? Not in the Confederate states. They even removed “promote the common welfare” from the preamble!

Sadly the Confederates took advantage of the kindness of the North after their rebellion had been crushed, and reinserted themselves into US political life. They may succeed yet in destroying the United States and producing the cheap labor paradise for those who are already rich that they always wanted. Seems like there are always plenty of suckers ready to march on their behalf, if they get told they are “rebels” defending some made up rights.