What was the condition of the South after the Civil War?

Question: What was the condition of the South after the Civil War!?
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The post war period was as devastating on ex-slaves as for those of the former Confederacy!. A growing economy was required for all residents of the South!. However, the South’s total commodity output did not even return to its 1860 level until nearly two decades later!. Albeit there were high war deaths the population had risen the per capita output in 1880 was still 20 percent below prewar levels!. In addition Southerners lost between One billion and one and half billion dollars just from property destroyed during the American War of the 1860s!.

Interestingly, nearly a century later both Germany and Japan recovered rapidly from far worse damage and it would have been reasonable to anticipate that the South would have made major recovery within 5 years, but that didn’t happen!. In part this slow recovery is due to a change in the labor force, primarily blacks, in that post war they cut back on field work (although now they would be paid for that work) with women and children mostly leaving the fields and men cutting back!. This is a major reduction in available labor hours!.(re: “A Compilation of the Messages and papers of the Presidents volume 8, pages 3763 – 3764!.)

Even so this didn’t account for the Southern income dropping to 40 percent below the national average!. For example Great Britain (and other importers) shifted their purchases to India, Brazil, and Egypt during the War time embargo and post war the South didn’t reclaim its market share!.

In addition is what is considered the inefficiency of share-cropping (the new way of farming!.) This becomes increasingly significant when it is realized that during this period Southern manufacturing grew while farming decreased and remained low!.

A resurgence of the former crops would have to wait until new development in farming equipment and improved marketing of reliable, high quality farming products!.

Reconstruction did what the national government wanted it to do, that is, punish the South!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

the south was a crazy mess after the civil war!.
for one newly free'd slaves were running around and the slave owners were trying to find workers!.
and another thing 90% of the war was fought in the south so it was a messed up peice of land and sherman practiced "total war" which is burning everything in sight, from atlanta to the atlantic!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

You must be doing a college assignment or something!. What this and why this!. Look it up on google boo!. The answers to your questions are probably easy to find!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

it was devistated!.!.and of course it was known for racism and it wasn't and still isn't about that!.!.its about heritageWww@QuestionHome@Com

It was all tore up and devastated!.Www@QuestionHome@Com