Origins of the New South A. Reconfiguration of southern agriculture

Origins of the New South Reconfiguration of southern agriculture Postwar economic conditions: *Economy: at a standstill *Transportation system: broken *Economic lifeblood—agriculture: crippled *Labor system—slavery: collapsed *Seed and livestock: scarce, plundered

Origins of the New South Reconfiguration of southern agriculture

Post-Reconstruction Economy *Blacks and poor whites forced into sharecropping° + tenant farming

*At mercy of former masters, now their landlords/creditors

Origins of the New South Reconfiguration of southern agriculture Post-Reconstruction Economy *sharecropping (defined): *Postwar agricultural system in which black and poor white farmers rented land and residences from former planters in exchange for a “share” of each harvest. *Dominant form of postwar southern agriculture. *Landowners manipulated this system to keep tenants in perpetual debt and unable to leave.

Origins of the New South Reconfiguration of southern agriculture

Post-Reconstruction Economy *CROP LIEN system *storekeepers extended credit to small farmers for food and supplies *in return, they took a lien (legal claim on someone’s property) on their harvests

Origins of the New South Reconfiguration of southern agriculture

Post-Reconstruction Economy *Southern blacks were condemned to eke out a threadbare living under conditions scarcely better than slavery

Origins of the New South Reconfiguration of southern agriculture

Post-Reconstruction Economy Certainty of labor supply was reinforced by... *Jim Crow (legal codes of segregation) *Disfranchisement (literacy tests, poll taxes, voter registration laws) *Plessy v Ferguson (“separate but equal” was constitutional under the 14th Amendment)

Origins of the New South Reconfiguration of southern agriculture

Post-Reconstruction Economy *To ensure the stability of this political and economic “new order” any black who dared to violate the racial code was dealt with harshly: usually by lynching

Origins of the New South Reconfiguration of southern agriculture

The South in the Age of Industry *Industrial tidal wave in the North resulted in only feeble ripples in the South *Welcome agricultural boost in 1880s: machine-made cigarettes  James Duke  American Tobacco Company, Durham NC

Origins of the New South Reconfiguration of southern agriculture

The South in the Age of Industry *Industrialists tried to coax southerners out of the fields into the factories—modest success *Booster of the “New South” = Henry Grady, editor of Atlanta Constitution: outplay the Yankees in their commercial/industrial game

Origins of the New South Reconfiguration of southern agriculture

The South in the Age of Industry New South faced obstacles Railroads’ regional price discrimination Preferential rates for North moving manufactured goods South but only favored the South in transporting raw materials North

Origins of the New South Reconfiguration of southern agriculture

The South in the Age of Industry Example of this economic discrimination—

Pittsburgh plus pricing scheme Birmingham, AL coal + iron deposits should have produced prosperous steel manufacturing BUT steel lords of Pittsburgh pressured railroads to add fictional fee to Birmingham steel, thus stunting Southern economic growth

Origins of the New South Reconfiguration of southern agriculture

The South in the Age of Industry Manufacturing cotton textiles “BRING THE MILLS TO THE COTTON!” 1880s saw Northern investment in Southern looms: *Tax benefits *Cheap, nonunionized labor

Origins of the New South Reconfiguration of southern agriculture

The South in the Age of Industry Manufacturing cotton textiles “BRING THE MILLS TO THE COTTON!” This was a mixed blessing Cheap labor = main attraction Thus, keeping labor cheap became sacred

Origins of the New South Reconfiguration of southern agriculture

The South in the Age of Industry Manufacturing cotton textiles Mill work was available only to whites Entire families of “hillbillies”/”lint-heads” came to work in hastily constructed company mill towns where the company owned/controlled everything: houses, stores, schools, medical care, etc.

Origins of the New South Reconfiguration of southern agriculture

The South in the Age of Industry Manufacturing cotton textiles Southern mill workers worked from dawn to dusk for ½ of Northern mill workers’ rate “Payment” was often in company scrip = non-legal tender worthless anywhere else Workers paid exorbitant prices at company stores, which kept them in perpetual debt and “locked in”

Origins of the New South Reconfiguration of southern agriculture

Origins of the New South Expansion of manufacturing & industrialization Despite some measurable growth, the South remained largely untouched by the Industrial Revolution sweeping the rest of America.

Origins of the New South The politics of segregation POPULISTS, AGRARIAN UNREST AND 1892 ELECTION: >1m black farmers Colored Farmers’ National Alliance, sharing complaints w/poor white farmers Common economic goals lead both groups closer to overcoming racial differences

Origins of the New South The politics of segregation POPULISTS, AGRARIAN UNREST AND 1892 ELECTION: Blacks, many of whom could still vote at that time, gave Populists an edge Populist leaders like Tom Watson, from Georgia, reached out to black voters

Blacks, disillusioned with Republicans, were willing to vote for Populists in the South

Origins of the New South The politics of segregation POPULISTS, AGRARIAN UNREST AND 1892 ELECTION: Alarmed conservative white “bourbon” (and Democratic) Southern elites played on old racial antagonisms to counter the Populists’ appeal for interracial solidarity

Origins of the New South The politics of segregation POPULISTS, AGRARIAN UNREST AND 1892 ELECTION: Frightened by the power of the black vote, they aggressively used... literacy tests, poll taxes, and the grandfather clause to disfranchise blacks

Origins of the New South The politics of segregation POPULISTS, AGRARIAN UNREST AND 1892 ELECTION: This conservative crusade to eliminate the black vote affected the Populist Party itself. Tom Watson became a rabid racist and, with him, the Populist party—bitterly ironic fruits of Populist attempt at reforms in the South.