The New South & The New West
1865ish - 1893ish
Myth of the “New South”:
● Search for New Identity
○ After Civil War- Big Mess
○ Confederacy (South) Lost War
○ Terrible Economy after war
○ Cotton and Sugarcane were very profitable before
○ Wealthy South Before war
○ Britain buys a lot of cotton, south being best supply for cotton
○ India and Egypt has higher quality cotton, Britain got cotton cheaper than the
south
○ Price of cotton goes down to ⅓ of what it was for the south meaning economy
tanks
○ Slaves had a value which got wiped out
○ WARS COST MONEY, Civil war was terribly expensive
○ “Lost cause” - reframing of Civil War, highlights the 4 years of the confederacy
and idealizes the confederate leaders and fighters
○ White Supremacy - tie class to race
● Industrialization
○ Lots of land, “come run your business here”
○ Large Labor pool (Former Slaves)
○ Tobacco Crop grows largely
○ Coal mining becomes popular
○ Timber Production, what is now Hattiesburg
○ Iron and Metal Work, what is now Birmingham
● “Redeemers”
○ “Saved the south”
○ Cut Government Spending (Including government services, Schools)
○ Sharecropping
Failings of the New South
● Poverty
○ Relatively Wealthy Landowners
○ Lack of Education
● Sharecropping
○ Price of cotton had gone down, price of production stays the same
○ More people get trapped in sharecropping
○ Sharecropping is a system where the landlord/planter allows a tenant to use the
land in exchange for a share of the crop. This encouraged tenants to work to
1865ish - 1893ish
Myth of the “New South”:
● Search for New Identity
○ After Civil War- Big Mess
○ Confederacy (South) Lost War
○ Terrible Economy after war
○ Cotton and Sugarcane were very profitable before
○ Wealthy South Before war
○ Britain buys a lot of cotton, south being best supply for cotton
○ India and Egypt has higher quality cotton, Britain got cotton cheaper than the
south
○ Price of cotton goes down to ⅓ of what it was for the south meaning economy
tanks
○ Slaves had a value which got wiped out
○ WARS COST MONEY, Civil war was terribly expensive
○ “Lost cause” - reframing of Civil War, highlights the 4 years of the confederacy
and idealizes the confederate leaders and fighters
○ White Supremacy - tie class to race
● Industrialization
○ Lots of land, “come run your business here”
○ Large Labor pool (Former Slaves)
○ Tobacco Crop grows largely
○ Coal mining becomes popular
○ Timber Production, what is now Hattiesburg
○ Iron and Metal Work, what is now Birmingham
● “Redeemers”
○ “Saved the south”
○ Cut Government Spending (Including government services, Schools)
○ Sharecropping
Failings of the New South
● Poverty
○ Relatively Wealthy Landowners
○ Lack of Education
● Sharecropping
○ Price of cotton had gone down, price of production stays the same
○ More people get trapped in sharecropping
○ Sharecropping is a system where the landlord/planter allows a tenant to use the
land in exchange for a share of the crop. This encouraged tenants to work to
