THE CHANGING SOUTH (CHAPTER 9: PART 2)

THE CHANGING SOUTH

INTRODUCTION Review the map on page 163. The most universally recognized culture region within North America, yet displays tremendous diversity The country music example “Nashville type” “Bluegrass Basin style” “Old-Timey” “Memphis Blues”

LONG TERM CONSEQUENCES OF CIVIL WAR Persistent Poverty Racial Segregation Sectionalism Led to the formation of the “solid south” Enhanced by the following…  Four years of war fought on southern soil  Loss of the war  Repressive aspects of reconstruction  Occupation by a conquering army

LONG TERM CONSEQUENCES OF CIVIL WAR  Out-migration was slow to initiate during the first 50 years after the Civil War because of…  1) a lack of information  2) initial improvements in local opportunities  3) skill and education limitations  4) poverty  5) simple inertia

LONG TERM CONSEQUENCES OF CIVIL WAR  Migration patterns during the post WWI era  Push Factors  Jim Crow Laws  Violence  Subsistence economic conditions  Pull Factors  Jobs in industry  Opportunity for a better life  Positive info/feedback from family & friends  Mass exodus had a negative impact on the Southern economy (most migrants were years old)

The national dropout rate for adults 25 and over was 25 percent in High school dropout rates, 1990

Unemployment rate, 1995 The national unemployment rate was 5.5 percent in 1995

ECONOMIC REORGANIZATION 1870 to Mid-1930s Characteristics agrarian produced raw agricultural materials for export capital deficient relied on extensive use of hand labor and draft animals featured sharecropping and the crop-lien system  Sharecropping  a form of agricultural tenancy  tenant pays for use of the land with a predetermined share of his crop rather than with a cash rent

ECONOMIC REORGANIZATION (continued)  1870 to Mid-1930s (continued)  Crop-Lien System  A farm-financing scheme  Money is loaned at the beginning of a growing season to pay for farming operations  Subsequent harvest used as collateral for the loan Urban Structure  Characterized by many small market centers, railroad towns, textile mill towns, and county seats

ECONOMIC REORGANIZATION (continued) Present  By 1950, half of the labor force was engaged in urban- based nonagricultural employment.  Sharp increases in the manufacturing & service sectors  Agriculture is more diversified  Soybeans are the most valuable cash crop.  Poultry farming is centered on the South, which accounts for 75% of all commercial broilers.  Mechanization is increasing & sharecropping is greatly declining.  Rural to urban migration continues to increase.

THE SOUTH TODAY  “New South” Refers to the breaking down of the isolation and the modification of the distinctive southern culture Usually refers to the south since World War II. Trends  2/3's of the region's people live in major metropolitan centers  In cities had populations > 50,000.  In cities had populations > 50,000.  In cities had populations > 50,000.

CHANGES IN REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF US BLACK POPULATION

THE SOUTH TODAY (continued)  Low costs of living and cheap labor have attracted many industries.  Recent indications=>low-wage labor is almost exhausted and wages are starting to climb.  There has been a significant infusion of Northern migrants who have brought their "cultural baggage" with them.  Isolation, sectionalism and racism, all appear to be declining.  Then again……some things don’t seem to change.

THE CHANGING SOUTH (CHAPTER 9: PART 2)