The Continental Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 5, May, 1864 Devoted To Literature And National Policy

"The Continental Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 5, May, 1864" by Various is a magazine that gives readers a peek into life during the Civil War era, mainly through essays and reports. The publication highlights the serious differences between the economies of states that allowed slavery and those that did not. One essay, written by Hon. Robert J. Walker, uses statistics to compare Kentucky, a slave state, and Ohio, a free state and draws attention to the huge gaps in population increase, wealth, and education. Using census data from 1790 to 1860, Walker claims that free states like Ohio showed much better progress in terms of their economies and how well their citizens were educated, compared to slave states like Kentucky. These observations kick off a bigger conversation about how slavery affected American society and its economy, all happening while the Civil War was going on.