This paper analyzes the conditions and major changes in the South after the Civil War in the period between 1860 -1920.
This paper explains that the Southern way of living, earning bread and butter through plantations and power over black slaves, was destroyed completely after the Civil War. The author points out that the major problem the South experienced after the war was a reduced labor force, as blacks wanted to work for themselves and not for masters. The paper concludes that all the changes after the Civil War cost the Southerners a great deal of their wealth and property, but it ended with greater developments and benefits resulting in a changed life style for everyone and allowed the blacks to live a life of freedom.
“A few years after the Civil War, there were some large scale construction projects. After the 1880s, an era of prosperity commenced. Subsistence and diversified farming gave way to commercial agriculture. Construction of railroads resulted in the creation of new towns. Later the plantations were divided into fragments and families who worked as tenants on others farms rose gradually. During the period between 1880 and 1910 a great number of buildings were constructed both in small and large towns. Hence, architectural modifications brought about a number of changes in the living style of people. The huge market for the cotton and tobacco nurtured.”