The Gilded Age
The New South:
From Plantation to Iron
Henry W. Grady
Editor of the Atlanta Constitution
Major voice of the “New South”
Called for:
Industrialization
Diversified & efficient agriculture
Widespread education
Sectional peace and racial harmony
The “Old” South
Tredegar Iron Works
(Richmond, VA)
The “Old” South
By committing itself to cotton production, the South:
Gambled its future on unending demand (primarily
British)
Tied its economic performance to international
commodity prices
Sacrificed long-term development for short-term gain
Accepted moral isolation from rest of the world (Due to
existence of slavery)
The “Old” South
Southern Society
A Study in
Contrasts
The “Old” South
Distinguishing Characteristics of Plantations
(How were they different from other farms?)
Large size
Substantial commercial enterprises
Dedicated to producing staple crops for market
Large labor force
Management structure
Division of labor
Distinction between management & labor
Owners did not work alongside slaves
The “Old” South
The “New” South?
Mechanizing Cigarette Production
Hand rolling:
About 240 per hour
The Bonsack
rolling machine
12,000 per hour
Ten machines could
replace 500 workers
Cigarettes and the Tobaccos Industry
“The tobacco industry is about half
smoke and half ballyhoo.” James Duke
Massive advertising
aggressive pricing
virtual monopoly on supplies
and key technologies
Market domination
90% of cigarette production by
1890
75% of tobacco production by
1904
Southern Steel
By 1889 Birmingham’s steel industry,
founded in 1870,
was ready to challenge Pittsburgh for
the lead in steel production. By 1907,
had been bought by its northern rival
Railroad Impacts
Connected isolated areas to
national & international
markets.
Opened new areas to
settlement & development.
Fueled growth of interior
cities.
Eased migration westward.
Opened southern economy to
outside interests.
Southern Economics
Limits to Southern Economic Growth
Burgeoning North
Low wages
Limited capital
Colonial Economics
A colony serves as a producer of raw materials, which
are shipped to the mother country.
A colony serves as a market for finished goods produced
by the mother country.
The colony exists for the economic benefit of the mother
country.
Sharecropping/Tenancy Rates
1890
South Carolina - 61%
Georgia – 60%
Alabama – 58%
Mississippi – 62%
Louisiana – 58%
Sharecropping
“facing the eastern end of a westbound mule”
Sharecropping
Landlord provides:
A house
A plot of land
Seed, tools, mule
Credit at a store (usually owned by the landlord)
Sharecropper provides:
Labor (to grow the crop and maintain fences, ditches,
etc.)
Crop split 50/50 between landlord and sharecropper
Sharecropping
Pitfalls:
Sharecropping was not a contract between equals.
Landlord held all the power
Landlord controlled the accounting
Tremendous incentive for landlord to cheat
Forced continued emphasis on marketable cash
crops
Often trapped croppers/tenants in a cycle of debt