The Effects of Change

The Effects of Change

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The years around 1920 were as pivotal in Southern history as few other years had been or would ever be. This was brought about as the result of the disastrous drop in farm prices. By the end of 1920 the world had substantially recovered economically from the disruption of World War I. Farm output had soared, markets were glutted, and, as a result, prices dropped. Southern farmers found that they had overplanted their land and had overextended their credit. While large farms could withstand the impact of change through the application of science to farming, the marginal "cropper" or "tenant" was forced off the land. In the 1920’s two out of three Southerners lived on the land usually marginally. With the precipitous decline in farm prices, these marginal farmers left the land by the tens of thousands, moving to Northern cities where some jobs were available. The automobile gave new mobility to Southerners, and migrants, both black and white, wandered away from the land in ever increasing numbers thereby drastically affecting population statistics. The most energetic, and often best educated (along with the poorest elements of society) were migrating to the more prosperous areas of the nation. This naturally affected the provincial folk culture of the South. The most important effect of the disaster of the 20’s on Southern agriculture was the uprooting of Southerners from their existence and the challenging of their culture.

In this era of frustration and turbulent change more emphasis was placed upon creating "New South." The necessity for reform for a sagging agrarian system had long been opposed, but it now had to come. Some Southern states began road and school building programs in hopes of attracting industry. State government financed electrical power installations...

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