Big Change In The South example essay topic

The very status of normality decides in which rung of the social ladder we reside upon. Prior to the Civil War, the South lived in their normal way of life. That is that they were able to uphold their social hierarchy in which the Slaves were the very bottom rung, and the rich dictated politics. However, with the loss of the Civil War and the beginning of Reconstruction, the South was changed. After Reconstruction, one could say that the southern people, black and white, returned to their normal lives. However, they certainly did not turn to their normal lives.

They country, including the South had been changed forever, in its economic, political, and social ways of life. Economically, the southern way of life had changed forever, and changed from its previous agricultural lifestyle, into a more industrialized society. Although, directly after the reconstruction, the south had still been primarily agriculturally based, after some time, it became industrialized. However, even then the change in their agricultural ways was a significant enough change.

The major way they changed economically was technologically. With the invention machines to make cigarettes, the Tobacco Trust was able to increase production of tobacco. Another major change was the end of their plantation system, which degenerated into a pattern of absentee land ownerships with white tenant farmers or black sharecroppers tilling the land. The south's entire system of mass production of agriculture changed.

Formerly, they had slaves to do their work. However, after reconstruction slaves had to be paid and a new system was developed. The Crop-Lien system was now at the core of Southern agriculture. A farmer loaned away his land in return for crops and interest at the end of the year. This was often how blacks started their lives.

This is obviously a very large change from being slaves to owning their own farms. The slow change into industrialism was also seen in these years after Reconstruction. Mill towns began as a result of industrial expansion after Reconstruction. Textile factories encouraged by the southern government were set up as a result of the government offering lower taxes and other benefits. One would say that the south had stayed the same, but that was certainly not true. After Reconstruction, the south began a slow transition from agriculture to industrialism, and never did it return to its slave run plantations.

Thus, the south was changed economically forever. Politically the South had been drastically changed, especially in its power in government. The most influential change after Reconstruction for the south was that they had gained back control of their government. Although, this would seem to be a sign that they had once again become normal, that is not so. After Reconstruction they had now become actually more powerful in congress. With the freeing of the slaves, the south had a larger population and now more electoral votes.

A major change politically was the fact that now Blacks had began to run for office. Prior to the Civil War, it would never have even been a choice for a slave to run for office, but with the end of reconstruction, slaves began to now run and hold offices. This obviously angered many whites, and although about 75% of offices went back to ex-confederates, the blacks made a significant difference in politics. In the election of 1868, Grant won by 300,000 southern votes, which were votes by the 500,000 blacks who had just gained the right to vote. The largest change politically for the south was the fact that they had lost their power in government. Their new votes did not do much.

The reason for the slow pace to industrialize the south was caused by the fact that most of the money was put into railroads and industrialization in other parts of the country. The south had lost its influence and although it tried to hold on to its premise of states' rights, it eventually failed. Prior to Reconstruction, the South has been all for states' rights. However, after Reconstruction, although they controlled their state governments, they no longer had the influence to challenge the nation as they did in their Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, in the past. The South had tried to change things back to their original ways, however their lost cause in states' rights failed them. The people voting in the South changed, and their political status had entirely changed.

Therefore, certainly the south did not transform back to being normal after Reconstruction. Socially, the south had changed the most, and the social uprooting of the south during reconstruction, made the largest scar in the south. The largest difference was the fact that the slaves had now gained rights, and not only that, they ran their own lives. They suppressed the slaves into being in their former position, however this was the social change that the south went through. The south passed a series of codes to restrict the blacks from their rights. The south often tortured the slaves to vote in the way the whites wanted them too.

However, formerly they wouldn't even have to do this, because the slaves could not vote. The Jim Crow laws were intended to segregate the blacks in public facilities. However, Civil Rights cases still took place in 1883, which challenged these laws. Although, the blacks lost these cases, they still had them. Prior to reconstruction, the slaves would not even have had the chance to argue in supreme court for these.

Although they were suppressed, they had rights. Slaves now went to school and to college. Although, they were segregated, they still went to these places, they owned their own houses, and they had their own land. Lynchings were also a big change in the south. One could say the lynchings are what made the south return to normal. However, it is the fact that these lynchings had to take place.

The Ku Klux Klan was formed during reconstruction for this very reason. Prior to reconstruction, there would never have been any need for lynchings. Another social change was the fact that blacks began to now live side by side with whites, in their own houses. One could say that there was no change in the South after the civil war, socially, because the whites suppressed them into their old ways. However, it is the very fact that they now had to be suppressed because of the new rights that they had been given during reconstruction. After reconstruction the whites had to change their way of life to accommodate the blacks, and they had to suppress them, which is the very change that they went through.

Formerly, they would never have had to suppress them, but now they had to. Although, the south stayed very much the same in respect to the fact that the blacks were still suppressed, the circumstances with it were entirely different. The South went through a drastic change in the way they now had to deal with blacks and with new whites, such as the scalawags who had come from the north during reconstruction. Their interactions were different, much different than they were prior to Reconstruction.

Thus, surely the south went through a major social change. One could say that nothing ever changes, and others would say that it always does. Prior to Reconstruction, the South had its way of life, economically, politically and socially. During reconstruction, all that had changed into the way the north wanted it. They became the north's puppet. Although, Reconstruction ended and people believe that things went back to the way they were prior to reconstruction.

It is seen that that is not the case. The South indeed changed, and not back to its normal ways. It changed into something new, something better, and something drastically different; Economically, Politically, and Socially.