This point simply doesn’t make any sense. What is proper punishment? What punishment did the Union fail to enact that would have saved modern America?
The destruction of the pseudo-aristocracy of the South which perpetuated the plantation system; in slavery before the war, and in sharecropping after the war?
The suppression of Confederates and Lost Cause Mythology, which created an intense countercultural current against the post-war notion of racial reconciliation?
The entire anti-democratic system of the post-Reconstruction South which created deep divides in the proletariat at a time when labor radicalism was gained strength?
Yes, the South’s, who had the greatest incentive to continue slavery. But, the economy was truly transcontinental. One economy. The North benefitted immensely from slavery.
Would you like to remind me which economy struggled during the Civil War, and which economy continued largely as normal?
Do you think the North would opt for a punishment that would amount to falling on they’re own sword? Could such a punishment be politically tenable?
In what way would it be falling on their own sword? The South's cotton production was already castrated by Sherman's March and the fact that Britain had invested in growing cotton in Egypt and India in response to the US Civil War.
Human beings “other”. It’s key to understanding our species. So long as hardship can befall a people, those people will find a scapegoat. To this day, Blacks are only 14% of the population.
Capitilism + Humans = Political Cesspool
I've got some really bad news for you about non-capitalist systems.