Cotton-Trade

Treasury Department Cotton Permit System Enables Massive Corruption as Officials Trade with Enemy for Personal Profit

1863-01-15 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

Throughout the Civil War, the Treasury Department’s cotton permit system—requiring federal authorization to purchase cotton in Confederate states—becomes a cesspool of corruption, particularly in the Mississippi Valley. Francis Preston Blair charges that Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase …

Treasury Department Charles Dana Abraham Lincoln Salmon P. Chase Francis Preston Blair +1 more cotton-trade treasury-corruption war-profiteering trading-with-enemy permits

General Benjamin Butler's New Orleans Occupation Marked by Systematic Corruption and Cotton Trade Profiteering

1862-05-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

After Union naval forces under David G. Farragut capture New Orleans in spring 1862, General Benjamin F. Butler is appointed military governor of the occupied city, beginning one of the most controversial and corrupt episodes of the Civil War. Butler’s brief tenure becomes notorious for …

Benjamin F. Butler Andrew Butler David G. Farragut Abraham Lincoln military-corruption war-profiteering cotton-trade new-orleans accountability-failure