SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT
Thayer Watkins

Estimates of
the Cost of
the American Civil War

NET DIRECT COSTS OF THE CIVIL WAR
in millions of $1860 discounted to June 1861 @ 6%
CategoryUnionConfederacy
Government expenditures2,2911,011
Labor Costs Undercounted
Because of Draft		1120
less Labor Costs Overcounted
Because of Risk Premium		-256-178
Net Cost of Resources
Destruction of Physical Capital01,487
Destruction of Human Capital
Killed955684
Wounded365261
Total3,3663,286
Source: Claudia Goldin and Frank Lewis, "The Economic Costs of the American Civil War: Estimates and Implications," Journal of Economic History, vol. 75 (1975), pp. 304-309.

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