Post-Bellum Economics

Post-bellum Economics Georgia’s Antebellum economy had been based upon land, labor, and capital After the war, planters had land but no labor. Slaves had labor but no land. Neither had money (capital). Whites and blacks had to find ways to work to survive

Land After the war, many plantation owners had to sell off some of their land to raise cash. Because there was so much land available and landowners were so desperate for money, land was dirt cheap As a result, many small farms came into being in GA. Through aid from the federal government, many Blacks and Whites became landowners; however, the majority of Georgians could not afford to own their own land

Labor After the Civil War, GA faced a serious shortage of workers – particularly on farms and plantations. One reason was the great number of white males wounded or killed in the war. A second reason was that many Whites left GA to relocate to other places. An even more important reason for the labor shortage was no money to pay workers. Because of the shortage of money to pay workers, Black Georgians seeking work would either work for wages, rent land, or sharecrop with a landowner.

Capital “It takes money to make money” – to make money growing cotton, a planter needed capital – to buy work animals, plows, seed, fertilizer, and labor. Emancipation meant that capital that had been tied up in slaves was gone. Remaining capital in the form of Confederate money and bonds was worthless. The only alternative to selling off land to raise money was to borrow it. Unfortunately, many of GA’s banks had gone under with the Confederacy and there was very little credit available.

ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION

Rebuilding Begins There were some bright spots in GA’s Post-bellum economic picture. In the areas that had escaped the war – the northeast and southwest – farming resumed. A cotton shortage in 1865 and 1866 helped the South revive. Demand for cotton was high and GA’s cotton farmers could sell it at a high price. Other parts of the economy received a boost when northern bankers and businessmen began making financial investments in the South. Investments from the North helped get GA’s mills going, the trains running again and new companies started.

Carpetbaggers & Scalawags Along with northern money came northern opportunists, ready to take advantage of the South’s economic and political turmoil. Some gained control of southern businesses, while others used influence with federal authorities to gain public office. Because they often carried bags made of carpet material, they were called carpetbaggers. White southerners who worked with the carpetbaggers were called scalawags. They were most despised by their white neighbors because they were seen as traitors.

Help for the People In March 1865, the United States government set up the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, more commonly known as the Freedmen’s Bureau. It issued food, clothing, fuel, and other supplies to needy whites and free blacks.

Help for the People (cont) At first, the Freedmen’s Bureau helped thousands of poor whites, but it eventually became an agency, whose main purpose was to help freed blacks function as citizens. It helped black laborers and white landowners draw up labor contracts that were designed to guarantee workers a fair wage and job security and the employers a stable labor force.

Help for the People (cont) Education was a primary concern for the Freedmen’s Bureau and charity groups sponsored by the Congregationalists, Methodists, and Baptist churches These groups were responsible for starting the first colleges for African American students in GA. Atlanta University was started in 1867 by the American Missionary Association. American Baptist Home Missionary Society founded Morehouse College, which later relocated to Atlanta. The northern Methodist Episcopal Church founded Clark University.