1. AP United States History West Blocton High School Mr. Logan Greene
Chapter 19B: A New South
AP United States History
West Blocton High School
Mr. Logan Greene

2. Chapter Objectives
What changed in the New South between 1870 and 1900, and what stayed the same?
What were the origins and nature of Southern Populism?
What were women’s roles in the New South?
How did segregation and disenfranchisement change race relations in the South?

3. How New Was the New South?
As Reconstruction closed Southerners held an optimistic view of the future
However, by 1900 white supremacist political leaders had completely disenfranchised blacks and also hampered poor whites
Thus the “New” South was simply new economically as cities exploded in size and industry began to come to the South

4. The Solid South
The Democratic Party quickly regained control of the South at the close of Reconstruction
The Democratic Party completely controlled the South up until 1950 in what was simply known as the Solid South

5. The New Industrial South
Leaders the South pushed for more industry as a way to break the bonds to Northern industry
In the post Reconstruction south cities and industries grew at incredible rates
Birmingham was the best example as it changed from a tiny hamlet to challenging Pittsburgh’s supremacy in iron and steel manufacturing
Coca-Cola and new tobacco also flourished at this time

6. Railroads
As industry in the New South grew railroads grew along with it
Railroads grew new cities in the interior of the South as port cities declined
As well, new areas opened up for settlement such as Florida and areas around the Appalachians
Towns sprung up along rail lines

7. Limitations
Despite the RAPID growth, the South was barely keeping pace with the industrial north
Workers wages in the South were roughly half of those in the North. Although this brought businesses to the South it limited the South’s market economy as men had less money to spend

8. The Agrarian Revolt
Despite growing urban areas the south was still majorly agrarian
As the railroad opened new areas for settlement these were also new areas for agriculture
In the period after Reconstruction cotton prices plummeted
This led to a serious economic collapse of the agrarian south as thousands of farms were foreclosed upon
Slowly this forced farms who did survive to attempt to diversify

9. Southern Farmers Organize
Despite the Democrats control they did face some opposition
By 1875 over 250,000 men had joined the Grange, the first major organization to help farmers
However, it was dominated by large landowners and did not help the small farmers

10. Southern Farmers Organize
Real relief and power came with the Southern Farmer’s Alliance founded in the late 1870’s
The Farmer’s Alliance founded co-ops which offered discounted goods and credit for poor farmers
The Farmer’s Alliance was never intended to be a political party

11. The Farmer’s Alliance
The Farmer’s Alliance functioned like a religious group forcing strict morality
Surprisingly women were not excluded from the Alliance and welcomed to be officers and spokespeople
African-Americans sponsored their own group the Colored Farmer’s Alliance and fought for basically the same issues

12. Populism
The Alliance turned to politics with the Subtreasury plan: an idea of storing cotton until the price rose and receiving loans from the government
Democrats failed to back the plan
Frustrated the Alliance formed the Populist Party which would become the single most important third party in American history

13. The Populists The Populists supported a growing list of issues:
Direct election of Senators
Income tax
Women’s suffrage
Government ownership of railroads
The Populists made inroads in the South but soon Democrats fused Populist principles with their own and the Populist died out; however, virtually all their issues became part of America politics

14. Women
Many Southern women had gained power through their experiences in the Alliance
Women began voicing their opinions
The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) addressed the evils of alcohol and pushed for prohibition and quickly began pushing for women’s suffrage
Women’s Clubs grew throughout the South and pushed for a voice for women in the New South and were normally sponsored by Churches and followed morality causes

15. Race
As Reconstruction ended race relations stayed somewhat calm as many African-Americans maintained the right to vote
The issue came with the generation of Blacks that were born free. They demanded full rights and equality and this upset the delicate balance
As the economy worsened blacks became the scapegoat for white politicians who wished to widen the division between poor whites and blacks

16. Lynching
Sadly in the period after 1890 lynching became all to common in the South
Whites justified it as protecting white southern virtue (specifically white female virtue)
Ida B Wells was the most outspoken opponent of the lynching as they slowly tapered off

17. Segregation
In the post Reconstruction period Northern cities began to scale back public segregation as Southern cities ramped up their segregation
At the same time disenfranchisement became common place
The Supreme Court ruled on the situation in 1896’s Plessy v. Ferguson by stating that separate but equal was legal and made segregation acceptable

18. Jim Crow Laws
States now codified segregation in new state constitutions and with new laws
The laws that spelled out legalized segregation were known as Jim Crow Laws and were passed in virtually every southern state

19. Disenfranchisement
States now felt they had the green light to legally make their blacks second class citizens
States began to disenfranchise or remove the vote from blacks
They used poll taxes and literacy tests as the most common ways to take away the vote
To keep poor uneducated whites voting grandfather clauses to allow anyone eligible in 1867 to vote regardless

20. The National Consensus
It is hard to imagine how the South could so blatantly ignore the 14th and 15th Amendments
Racial stereotypes of Africans as uneducated and ignorant people permeated in the North as well
Very few whites in the North or South felt strongly enough to protest the new laws
The Republicans in the North did not need Southern votes so they did not broach the issue
In essence no one who was against the new laws had enough to gain to protest them

21. Black Responses
Blacks attempted to break the disenfranchisement and the segregation but were brutally defeated by state governments as the national government ignored the issue
Some blacks left the south while many chose to simply slip into pure black communities to escape the rampant racism

22. Black Leaders Two men emerged as voices for African Americans:
WEB DuBois: A northerner who preached immediate equality and wanted Blacks to go to Universities and become scholars, doctors, and lawyers. Founded the NAACP
Booker T. Washington: A former slave who wanted blacks to learn a trade or become better farmers to support themselves before going after equality. Founded the Tuskegee Institute to train African Americans

23. Chapter Objectives
What changed in the New South between 1870 and 1900, and what stayed the same?
What were the origins and nature of Southern Populism?
What were women’s roles in the New South?
How did segregation and disenfranchisement change race relations in the South?