Was there a New South after the Civil War? What elements marked or did not mark the New South? After the Civil War, the South was in a state of political turmoil, social chaos, and economic decline. Contrary to popular belief, Northerners did not subject Southerners to unethical or inhumane punishment. The time post Civil War was filled with efforts toward reconstructing the South, yet there is the strong question if there even is a New South. Yes, there was somewhat of a New South economically. No, there was not a New South regarding race relations and social hierarchy. In the 1870’s, the South realized the world still looked at them as the ones who wanted slavery. There was a need to project a new image to the world and to stimulate economic development. Some say the New South began to emerge when federal troops were removed from the South in 1877 and consistently was being reformed well into the twentieth century. A group of Democratic office holders, the Redeemers, were said to have redeemed the South from federal intervention. These leaders came from middle classes, and the majority of them had served the Confederacy. The Redeemers were interested in increasing economic opportunities for Southerners. The most important person in the years of the Redeemers was a newspaperman—the “Spokesman of the New South—a man by the name of Henry W. Grady. Grady was a strong promoter of a “New South”. He made an apology for defending slavery and spoke about how the South had learned its lesson. There was certainly not a New South immediately; there were changes in the South, but nothing to classify it as having a new attitude. Economically, the South expanded after the Civil War. There was construction of new railroads, as wel... ... middle of paper ... ...00_unit_five_lesson_sixteen.htm “Lesson Sixteen: Creating a New South- The New South,” New Frontiers for the Nation, http://web3.unt.edu/cdl/course_projects/HIST2610/content/05_Unit_Five/16_lesson_sixteen/00_unit_five_lesson_sixteen.htm “American History 102: The ‘New South,’” “American History 102: The ‘New South,’” “American History 102: The ‘New South,’” “American History 102: The ‘New South,’” “American History 102: The ‘New South,’” “Constitution of the United States,” National Archives and Records Administration, http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html “American History 102: The ‘New South,’” “Constitution of the United States” “Constitution of the United States” “American History 102: The ‘New South,’” “American History 102: The ‘New South,’” “American History 102: The ‘New South,’”
Adam Rothman 's Slave Country: American Expansion and the Origins of the Deep South. Rothman 's first book is a timely monograph that reminds us about the different ideological and political motives that drive territorial expansion in the United States during that time. In just over two hundred pages, he provides an analytic narrative of how the Deep South- Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi - grow into a thriving society. More importantly, is he well argued thesis that the expansion of territory in which plantation slavery can be a main force drove settlers and speculators into what is now known as the Deep South.
After the Civil War, it became evident that changes in the South had to be made. The old way had certainly not worked, and it was time for variation. Therefore, there was much political, economic, and social reforms introduced in the South between 1864 and 1877. After 1877, many of the changes stayed with the exception of Civil Rights.
Imagine a historian, author of an award-winning dissertation and several books. He is an experienced lecturer and respected scholar; he is at the forefront of his field. His research methodology sets the bar for other academicians. He is so highly esteemed, in fact, that an article he has prepared is to be presented to and discussed by the United States’ oldest and largest society of professional historians. These are precisely the circumstances in which Ulrich B. Phillips wrote his 1928 essay, “The Central Theme of Southern History.” In this treatise he set forth a thesis which on its face is not revolutionary: that the cause behind which the South stood unified was not slavery, as such, but white supremacy. Over the course of fourteen elegantly written pages, Phillips advances his thesis with evidence from a variety of primary sources gleaned from his years of research. All of his reasoning and experience add weight to his distillation of Southern history into this one fairly simple idea, an idea so deceptively simple that it invites further study.
While the north experienced dramatic economic change, the south remained relatively unchanged from the 1800s to the 1850s. The southern economy was a slave-based, agrarian society. The south's main resource of production w...
After the Union victory in the Civil War, the South was still bitter and needed vast societal changes that matched those in the North. Reconstruction efforts were made to to make the regions more similar socially, politically, and economically; because despite the fact that they were on nation, the two societies were very different. There were still unresolved issues in regards to the status of former slaves and what system of labor should replace slavery. After the Union’s victory in the Civil War, reform efforts were made during the Reconstruction era to reunite the North and South and make ideas in the South more similar to those in the North; but this failed because of the South’s preconcieved ideas towards race.
Part of the mythology every schoolchild in the United States learns…is that the colony of Virginia achieved quick prosperity upon the basis of slaves and tobacco. Thus, “the South” is assumed to have existed as an initial settlement, with little change until the cataclysm of the Civil War in 1861.
The south was in economic and social chaos after its defeat in the war. 1865-1877 was a time period of reconstructing the south, however, it left an everlasting impression that kept the south behind for years to come. The political apprehension the south felt was due to the fact that there was no more authority and the new states had to deal with the northern states. The question was how the newly reelected Lincoln was going to bring these states back to the Union.
It was agreed upon by the Republicans that the only way the southern states would be welcomed back into the Union was if they ratified the Fourteenth Amendment but then President Johnson told the states that they should ignore this law and not pass it. Congress had the majority of votes that were in favor of the southern states adopting the amendment so it was put into law. The last congressional Reconstruction measure that was passed was the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which prohibited racial discrimination in transportation, restaurants and jury selection. Unfortunately it did not guarantee equality in schools, churches or cemeteries so it led to many problems in the future. After the end of Reconstruction, the idea of the “New South” arose and the main advocate of this was Henry Grady, editor for the Atlanta Constitution (Grem). The "New South" was promoted by southern leaders as a way to lessen Northern influence on Southern affairs right after the Civil War but remained a dream and not a reality. Due to racial tensions, poor economic practices, and a divided political stance the South was prevented from achieving full equality and prosperity, even up to
When Reconstruction began in 1865, a broken America had just finished fighting the Civil War. In all respects, Reconstruction was mainly just that. It was a time period of “putting back the pieces”, as people say. It was the point where America attempted to become a full running country once more. This, though, was not an easy task. The memory of massive death was still in the front of everyone’s mind, hardening into resentment and sometimes even hatred. The south was virtually non-existent politically or economically, and searching desperately for a way back in. Along with these things, now living amongst the population were almost
The North and South were forming completely different economies, and therefore completely different geographies, from one another during the period of the Industrial Revolution and right before the Civil War. The North’s economy was based mainly upon industrialization from the formation of the American System, which was producing large quantities of goods in factories. The North was becoming much more urbanized due to factories being located in cities, near the major railroad systems for transportation of the goods, along with the movement of large groups of factory workers to the cities to be closer to their jobs. With the North’s increased rate of job opportunities, many different people of different ethnic groups and classes ended up working together. This ignited the demise of the North’s social order. The South was not as rapidly urbanizing as the North, and therefore social order was still in existence; the South’s economy was based upon the production of cotton after Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin. Large cotton plantations’ production made up the bulk of America’s...
While it may be the underlying reason as to why the principles of the South emerged, it is not enough to think of the South as just a physical setting; when discussing the South one, whether it is inadvertently or not, has the ideals and stereotypes in mind of the old South. Many people do in fact view the South as more of a set of labels and perceptions of that area’s customs rather than as a geographical location. The old South includes much more than just general ideals and simple stereotypes; there is much more to the culture of the South than what can be grouped with those words. The upper classes generally exhibited loyalty and expressed greatly refined manners. The men were painted to be poised, chivalrous and hardworking while the women were expected to be gentile and proper. The South has certainly transcended in its own way to become more of a lifestyle than simply a geographical location.
The Civil War marked a defining moment in United States history. Long simmering sectional tensions reached critical when eleven slaveholding states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. Political disagreement gave way to war as the Confederates insisted they had the right to leave the Union, while the loyal states refused to allow them to go. Four years of fighting claimed almost 1.5 million casualties, resulting in a Union victory. Even though the North won the war, they did a horrible job in trying to win the peace, or in other words, the Reconstruction era. Rather than eliminating slavery in the South, the Southerners had a new form of slavery, which was run by a new set of codes called "Black Codes”. With the help of President Johnson, the South continued their plantations, in essence becoming exactly what they were before the war. Overall, the South won Reconstruction because in the end they got slavery (without the name), they got an easy pass back into the Union, and things reverted back to the way they had been prior the war.
Reconstruction, the policy that attempted to reconstruct the South after the Civil War, officially ended in 1877. This policy was developed to bring back the 11 states that left the Union and give “freedmen”- African Americans who were freed from slavery - civil rights. The failure of Reconstruction was ironical since it happened during the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It also happened during a time when everything appeared to be going smoothly for the country, with railroads being built at a rapid rate, hopes and dreams as dreamed by Thomas Jefferson were being pursued, and African Americans were gaining more freedom and equal rights (Roden). The South was responsible for its death
After the Civil War the South had to be rebuilt. This was known as the Reconstruction Era. During the Recontruction Era a lot of time was devoted to the south by the nation.In fact there was a reconstruction plan made by President Abraham Lincoln.The point of his plan was to make the rebuilding of the South quicker. However the South did face some hardships, benefits, and disappointments during that time. For example, the South suffered a major decline in their econmy after the Civil War.
America has gone through many hardships and struggles since coming together as a nation involving war and changes in the political system. Many highly regarded leaders in America have come bestowing their own ideas and foundation to provide a better life for “Americans”, but no other war or political change is more infamous than the civil war and reconstruction. Reconstruction started in 1865 and ended in 1877 and still to date one of the most debated issues in American history on whether reconstruction was a failure or success as well as a contest over the memory, meaning, and ending of the war. According to, “Major Problems in American History” David W. Blight of Yale University and Steven Hahn of the University of Pennsylvania take different stances on the meaning of reconstruction, and what caused its demise. David W. Blight argues that reconstruction was a conflict between two solely significant, but incompatible objectives that “vied” for attention both reconciliation and emancipation. On the other hand Steven Hahn argues that former slaves and confederates were willing and prepared to fight for what they believed in “reflecting a long tradition of southern violence that had previously undergirded slavery” Hahn also believes that reconstruction ended when the North grew tired of the 16 year freedom conflict. Although many people are unsure, Hahn’s arguments presents a more favorable appeal from support from his argument oppose to Blight. The inevitable end of reconstruction was the North pulling federal troops from the south allowing white rule to reign again and proving time travel exist as freed Africans in the south again had their civil, political, and economical position oppressed.