Alan,
If you mean during the time of 1861 to 1865 the reason for economic collapse was the war. The cost of the war on those states in rebellion can be attributed to lack of manpower in the fields, lack of industrial capacity, largely on inflation (it was rampant),the fact that those who could did not buy bonds that Richmond was trying to sell them (many of them transfered their assets north according to John Beauchamp Jones in his Rebel War Clerk Diary)
IF you mean after 1865 a lot of it had to do with economic restrictions placed on them by Washington. We discussed Pittsburg Plus here before and MoFed I think pointed out that it not only affected the south but most of the country. There was a lot of rebuilding to do in the south since most of the fighting took place there. That was what reconstruction was supposed to be about but it did not work out to well. Perhaps if Booth had had a misfire that might have been better for the south. We will never know. Kind of like if Ft. Supter had not happened we might have not had the war but there again we will never know. We can only have personal conjecture. In my opion. Many on this board would not agree with that I know. But then again we will never know becuase it never happened that way it might have.
FC