Essay on Staple Crops of the Old South

One of the dominant factors in the history of the South has been its preoccupation with agriculture, especially the great staple crops of cotton and tobacco. Despite the growth of cities and the development of industries in recent decades, the bulk of the Southern population prior to 1940 was primarily concerned with the cultivation of the soil prior to that time. The economic and social status of agricultural classes, therefore, has largely determined both the conditions of Southern life and the patterns of thinking.

The grinding poverty that was “inflicted upon the whole region by The War" (Woodman, 1995) and the ensuing decline of agriculture has thus had far reaching psychological and physical consequences to Southerners and to the South.
If but one word could be used to describe living conditions in the South in the post-1865 era, it would be poverty. There was financial devastation, agricultural ruin, social and economic dislocation, and a lack of capital. As we have already seen, these problems caused by The War were not mitigated by massive infusions of capital from the North. Indeed, the South was viewed as a conquered region and treated as such. Thus, while Reconstruction 1866-1877 in general left a mixed record of failures and accomplishments, its most important legacy was the virtual bankruptcy of many of the Southern states of the Deep South. With little capital and huge debts, Southerners tended to turn to that which they did have in great quantities - Land.

Sadly, the economic picture for the South was bleakest in just that area. Agricultural wealth in 1866 was half that of 1859. Farm prices fell continuously over the next four decades until farm income for Southerners was only 50% that of the national average. There were many reasons for this.

Woodman, Harold D. 1995. “Old South - Legal Foundations of Credit and Labor Relations in the Postbellum Agricultural South” Publisher: Louisiana State University Press............

ESSAY ON THE AMERICAS