The New South and the New West

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from The New South and The New West (Chapter 17, Part A).

Lost Cause Myth

Romanticized memory of the Civil War defending slavery and secession; memorializes Confederate leaders (Davis, Lee, Jackson) and casts the war as about states' rights vs Northern aggression.

New South

Post-Reconstruction vision rejecting the Old South’s plantation system and promoting industrialization and economic diversification in the South.

Henry Grady

New South advocate and editor who promoted industrial growth and the idea that the Old South was dead.

Textile Industry (South, 1880–1900)

Rapid growth from 161 to 400 mills; by 1900 the South surpassed New England as the leading cotton fabric producer; about 70% of mill workers were under 21.

Washington Duke

Ex-Confederate from North Carolina who founded W. Duke and Sons in 1872 and helped build the tobacco industry.

W. Duke and Sons

Tobacco company founded by Washington Duke; later instrumental in forming the American Tobacco Company.

American Tobacco Company (1890)

Monopoly formed by consolidating major tobacco manufacturers under one corporation.

Appalachian Coal Industry

Coal production expanded from 5 million tons in 1875 to 49 million tons by 1900, fueling Southern industrial growth.

Southern Lumber Industry

Boom driven by demand for housing amid rapid urbanization; a lucrative part of the South’s industrial expansion.

Redeemers

Southern Democrats who used legal and extralegal means to restore white supremacy and promote a diversified Southern economy.

Crop-Lien System

Post-Civil War credit arrangement where landowners/merchants dictated crops and harvesting; small farmers pledged a portion of yield for supplies.

Sharecroppers

Farm laborers who often owned nothing and worked land in exchange for shelter and supplies, sharing a portion of crops.

Mississippi Plan (1890)

Constitutional amendments and practices designed to disenfranchise Black voters (residency tests, crime disqualification, tax requirements).

Grandfather Clause

Voting provision allowing only those whose grandfathers could vote in 1867 to vote; used to suppress Black suffrage.

Benjamin Tillman

South Carolina governor (1890–1894) who used fraud and violence to disenfranchise Black voters and scapegoated Blacks for economic problems.

Civil Rights Cases (1883)

Supreme Court decision ruling that the 13th and 14th Amendments protected rights against government action but not against private discrimination.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Supreme Court decision upholding state-imposed segregation with the 'separate but equal' doctrine; Homer Plessy challenged Louisiana law.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws enforcing racial segregation in public facilities; named after a Blackface character.

Lynchings

Extralegal, often public killings of Black people used to enforce racial control and intimidate Black communities.

Blackface

The practice that inspired the name 'Jim Crow' and reflected racial caricatures used to justify segregation.