The New South

The New South was meant to be different from the old. White and black people were to work together for a better South. White people would remain in charge, but African Americans would have rights and liberties. The South would industrialize and become rich. In truth, the New South was still very similar to the old. Let's look at its achievements and downfalls.

The New South Era

The New South era began in 1865, during Reconstruction, and ended in 1898. The goal was to end Reconstruction so that Southerners could rebuild however they saw fit. Many Southern leaders were former Confederates or newly affluent people who made their fortunes in one of the rising Southern industries.

One of the most critical projects they undertook was building railroads in the South and creating industries. The railroads were previously destroyed during the Civil War, but by rebuilding them, the South was better able to export products northward.

The New South Definition

Henry Grady coined the term "New South" in an article in the Atlantic Constitution. Grady believed the North won the war because they were more industrialized than the agriculture-based South. The South's infrastructure was destroyed, and Grady wanted to build a new and better South over it.

Fig 1: Henry Grady from the American Editors Series

He was able to get wealthy Northerners to invest in his ideal South. White and black people would work in the factories, but white people remained in control over society. Let's look at industrialization in the South.

The New South Economy

The New South had three primary industries: cotton milling, iron production and manufacture, and tobacco production.

Iron mines popped up all along the Appalachian Mountains with coal mines. By the 1900s, the South was one of the largest coal producers in the world. Iron mining was a growing industry.

Cotton production had been a Southern agricultural powerhouse, but cotton was not refined in the South. Instead, it was sent to the North, where it was made into textiles. Investors who moved their mills to the South had two advantages, they were closer to the cotton and had cheaper labor.

By moving south, the mills were closer to the cotton, and investors would pay less to transport it from farm to mill. There were no unions in the South to protect workers; the labor was cheaper. Black and white people worked in the mills, but black people were not allowed to work with machinery. They thought black people were "not smart enough" for skilled labor, which was untrue.

Tobacco production moved South for the same reasons as cotton. When the cigarette roller was invented, the tobacco industry capitalized on it and sold pre-rolled cigarettes. Tobacco was the second most-produced crop in the South, with cotton being the first.

Was Industrialization Successful?

Industrialization in the New South was unsuccessful. The South still brought in 40% less revenue than any other area in the United States. It began industrialization in the South, especially with the growing cotton milling industry.

• The South had three primary industries:
  • Cotton
  • Iron
  • Tobacco
• Industrialization was not accomplished because the South remained primarily rural and agricultural.

New South Movement

While Southern life improved for white people, the same cannot be said for African Americans. There were a few black politicians in the South, but it was a dangerous job. Organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan began to spring up, designed to disenfranchise African Americans through attacks, rape, and murder. The government sent military troops to prevent the KKK from hurting people while capturing and putting them on trial. The trials had all-white juries who were sympathetic to the hate groups.

Slaughterhouse Cases

African Americans lost their rights on the federal level in a series of cases called the Slaughterhouse Cases. The Supreme Court found loopholes to take African Americans' rights through these cases. White mobs prevented African Americans from voting by attacking and murdering them at the polls. African Americans who voted risked their lives to do so. The Supreme Court ruled in US Vs. Cruikshank that this was a state issue, and as long as the state politicians did not directly prevent African Americans from voting, then federal troops could not get involved.

Segregation, separating people based on race, was legalized in Plessy Vs. Ferguson. Homer Plessy was 1/8th black, and the state of Louisiana considered him to be an African American. Plessy was arrested when he refused to move from a white-only section of a train car. The Supreme Court ruled that segregation was legal as long as it was "separate but equal," though it often was not equal. This gave rise to Jim Crow Laws which legalized segregation.

Fig. 2- Homer Plessy. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Voter Suppression

Democrats won the 1875 elections by suppressing African American votes and terrorizing Republicans until they became Democrats. African Americans' votes were suppressed through violence and voter laws. There were poll taxes, meaning a person had to pay one dollar to vote. This was a lot of money for African Americans who struggled to get by.

Another form of suppression was the literacy test. The potential voter had to read the Constitution or explain a portion of it to the satisfaction of the person administering the test. Many African Americans were illiterate, and the test administrator would never be satisfied with African Americans' explanations of the Constitution.

Fig 3: African American Man Voting

The grandfather clause allowed anyone who could vote, or if their grandfather or father could vote, before 1867 to vote without the need to pay the poll tax or pass the literacy test. This allowed white people to vote without issue while preventing African Americans because they received the right to vote in 1867.

Ida B Wells

Fig 4: Ida B. Wells. Source

The South was a dangerous place to live, but it did not stop African American activists from fighting for change. Ida B. Wells was an activist whose legacy continues to inspire movements today like Black Lives Matter. Wells wrote anti-lynching pamphlets, helped found anti-lynching organizations, and brought the movement to Europe.

Lynching was when white mobs got together to kill African Americans accused of crimes. Black people never received a trial, and more often than not, they did not commit the crimes they were charged with. Even if they had committed the crimes, they deserved a fair trial, not vigilante "justice."

Wells challenged this and proved that many victims were innocent yet murdered for challenging white supremacy. Wells risked her life to raise awareness about the South's cruelties and wrote Southern Horrors and Red Record. Wells helped found the National Association of Colored Women and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

The New South Significance

The New South movement failed to industrialize the South but succeeded in disenfranchising the African American community. The New South was not significantly different from the old South. Confederates and like-minded people still controlled society, while African Americans were deprived of their fundamental rights.