Economic Growth Between the North and the South in Postbellum America
The North and the South of the United States experienced significantly different economic growth during the Postbellum years. First, we must remember the past, including the Antebellum and Civil War years. Looking at the past, one can see the growth and changes in both regions' economies during the Postbellum years. The economy during the Antebellum years was waning in the South. This continued into some postbellum years, except that the South’s economy was changing for the better in the latter years. The North’s economy was mainly industrial, and before the Civil War, this area's economy was doing well. However, the South was primarily agricultural, and before the Civil War, the South’s economy faltered. Pessen states, “The South nevertheless lagged far behind the Northeast in manufacturing; one influential school of historians has described the antebellum economy” (1980. p. 1125). Despite this manufacturing lag, the North relied on the South and the cotton they produced for