Devin Sheridan
The South After The Civil War
The Union victory in the civil war lead to economic decay, social disorder, and political turmoil. Reconstruction was the time period from 1865-1877 which sought to rebuild the south, and with reconstruction brought all new challenges. The unions total war tactics destroyed southern plantations, cities, and factories. Economically, the south post-civil war had a hard time importing and making money off of its main cash crop, cotton. Inflation was also an issue due to the decrease in worth of currency in the south. Socially, emancipated slave’s sought work and validation for the rights they deserved. Politically, the confederate government gave no power to the states and federal government, so it …show more content…
As the price of cotton was falling, southerners looked to employ newly freed slaves who were looking for work to help boost up the agriculture business. Sharecropping was a system that dominated the south, and under this system black families would rent small plots of land, to work themselves; in return, they would give a portion of their crop to the landowner at the end of the year. In Document “D” we see an example of African American women and children picking cotton on a plantation, they were sharecropping. This picture does expose the thought that these women and children had to submit to discipline and supervision even though they were free Americans. However, the abundance of cotton we see shows that these wealthy plantation owners could receive more cotton to sell, which would in time help reduce inflation and positively affect the economy. Sharecropping freed the blacks from gang- labor systems and some managed to acquire enough money to move from sharecropping to renting or owning land, but some also went into debt or were forced by poverty by their exploitative plantation owners. Sharecropping helped the plantation owners who were left in economic ruins due to their destroyed fields, and it provided work for many African Americans. As the souths banking system was destroyed and inflation was an issue, sharecropping utilized the …show more content…
All southern states abolished slavery in their constitution, and any rights were granted to blacks during this era. Economically the growth of sharecropping and economic influence from carpetbaggers helped the south gain back the money lost from destroyed farms and factories. Socially, the emancipation proclamation expanded the possibilities for many freedoms and rights that emancipated slaves would soon have. Politically, radical republicans created the freedman’s bureau and helped to pass the amendments that created rights for African Americans. Reconstruction created lasting effects, such as its revived legacy during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, when African Americans fought for political, economic and social