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Originally Posted by Texas2nd So how is the lack of infrastructure the fault of the planters?
Because the South wasn't industrialized?
I say blame the North's industrialization for thier superior infrastructure and the South's lack of industrialism on thier faulty infrastructure.
The planter is a farmer.
Texas2nd |
Well, because a lot of this is caused by
choices made by the people living at that time.
Generally, southern legislaturors, southern congressional delegations, and southern political leaders came from a background that was based on an agricultural society, and particularly the wealthy farmer or planter. They saw it as an ideal way to live, and they looked down upon the greasy mechanics and shopkeepers of the North, as they saw them. As they passed legislation and pushed for laws in Congress, they made
choices.
Naturally enough, that is what they promoted and pushed for. It carries forward into all walks of life. Industrialization is one of them.
Geography is part of this. In general, Northern rivers were deeper and faster-moving while Southern ones were shallower and slower moving (particularly in VA-NC-SC-GA-FL-AL-MS. This made industrial development from water power much easier in the North. But you notice that textile mills moved from the North to the South in the XXth Century, so the South of a later day figured out how to move that industry and those jobs down South. They could have built and run their own mills if they had been inclined to; they didn't want to.
Iron and steel require access to raw materials -- but the first iron mining area in the country was established in Virginia in 1720. With investment and hard work, a mining and manufacturing industry could have been established in the days before the Civil War. It wasn't, and a large part of the reason was the way in which Southerners, particularly wealthy Southerners and entrepeneurs,
chose to live, work, and invest.
They didn't want the disruptive effect of lots of foreign immigrants, so they did little to encourage them and much to discourage them. They swarmed into the North and helped establish the strength that crushed the Confederacy. Once again, this is largely a result of
choice on the part of Southerners.
Overall, total per capita spending for eductaion was close together between North and South before the Civil War. However, northern governments spent far more on public education, and Southern ones far less. (Southern per capita spending gets pushed up by the large number of planters sons and daughters going to finishing schools and small colleges that were not amed at making people succeed in the business world). As a result, Northerners were generally better educated. This was a well-known situation at West Point, where cadets from Northern states generally arrived for their Plebe year much better prepared for coursework (while Southerners were generally much better horsemen). Once again, this is a result of
choice by Southern governments, for the most part.
The South had the right to make those
choices. Having made them, though, they cannot avoid responsibility for them.
Regards,
Tim
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