"Then here's some more input for you sir. More than 95% of the adults of New England could read and write. The rest of the north was not far behind. The South had a white population that was reading at 80%. I believe this could have as much a factor for the economic boom as the weather."

No I do not think this is a cause.

All your other points are valid for a modern economy but I think my fellow posters are missing the heart of my query. It maybe my fault in how I worded it. I am searching for the primary cause of an economic boom, a surge of money, an explosion of output and wealth, that occured in a very short time to half of a country, a nation at war between 1861-63. Industrial improvements, transportation, machines, mass products techniques etc. were already in place before this large and extremely fast economic spike took place. What I am looking for is what made the markets take off? Exports maybe the key, the overseas costs for American foods escpecially winter wheats and corn, domestic products, raw materials seem to have taken off. Oil for the first time is sold as fuel in the millions of gallons, American made farm machines, clocks, sewing machines, etc. are bought and sold in Europe by the hundreds of thousands. I know the war had a part in it but guns, ships, and wool jackets only go so far. Was Europes thirst for American made products the key? Maybe there is no answer, I don't know.

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David Upton