Changes in American Southern States (1877-1913)

New South

Abstract

The "New South" is the phrase used to define southern states characterized by diversity of economy and socio-political changes. The coming of the "New South" began in 1877, when the Congress Southern Reconstruction Plan after the civil war ended, and continued until 1913 when Woodrow Wilson, a southerner, was elected as the new President of the United States. The leaders of the "New South" were called "Redeemers". They seized back authority from the "Carpetbaggers" and the "Scalawags" who controlled power during the Congress Southern Reconstruction Plan. Most of these "Redeemers" were not from the families of plantation owners or slaves holders. Most of them were townspeople who welcomed flourishing industries as well as new industrial investment. For agriculture, farmers were encouraged to plant a variety of exported crops, and applied production systems such as "sharecropping" or "tenant farmers". In politics, because the "Redeemers" as well as the "White Conservatives" were compelled to accept the 14^th and 15^th Amendments, which gave Black people the right to vote, they consequently attempted to offset the newly accquired political rithts of former slaves by issuing laws motivated by the "Mississippi Plan". These including "Grandfather Clauses" and "Literacy Tests" which disqualified mamy Black people from voting. In a social sphere, the sys of "Separate but equal" which strictly segregated . White and Black people in transportation, theatres, restaurants, schools, churches etc. was enforced. As a whole, it can be said that the "New South" represented changes and developments in many new directions, but its deep rooted problems including race and color conflicts continued.