How was life in the South before the Civil War?
1 Answer
The southern part of the United States was vastly different from the New England area. For example, the economy in the South was heavily dependent on agriculture and farming. Thus, many people worked on large plantations to grow crops.
The South had many large farms and was less industrialized than the North. Jobs here were different, and were also limited to a few fields (career fields, that is).
If you were an adult white male, you most likely owned a farm/plantation and oversaw workers that grew your crops. You were the head of your family and were in charge of making the money.
If you were a married woman, you worked around this house, not farm, and raised the children. If you were a son, you helped your father work and ran errands for him. You learned to run the farm, as it would eventually be yours.
If you were a girl, you would be helping your mother and would not go around the farm often, only men would own them. If you were black, you were a slave doing most of the work on the plantation. You were helpless, in the sun all the time, and lived in poor conditions, usually separated from your family.
Other lifestyles would include traders, hunters, etc. Although these jobs had their benefits, they were not as common.
