This Week in Reconstruction, April 15-21, 1867

This Week in Reconstruction, April 15-21, 1867

The South takes a step back from the focusing on the government and draws its attention towards industry and business. A sudden realization has overcome the South, as they witness first-hand the North making better use of its land far more than the South has accomplished. Southerners suffer from the disorganization of land and inability to properly manage the land they acquire. The North has perfected how much land is usable and how to properly divide land up so that maximum efficiency is put into the land. While Southerners still own the land, they call to the North for guidance and advice on how to use the land to its full extent. They will have to sell their land otherwise if they do not turn a profit from misusage and failure to produce crops. One Southern states, ". A quote from a Southern says, "They have no better lands at the North than we have, and we will sell ours cheaper than they can buy in their own States. Surely there is no better place in the world to live than in dear Old Virginia." Virginia and Richmond specifically suffer harshly from lack of income from the local industries. Virginia is looking for immigration and an influx of business into the State. This cannot be achieved without local industry succeeding first, as people do not want to move into a failing area. All the resources are available to prosper just like the North, yet no one can organize enough effort to make a difference. The South must learn from the North and learn to moderate their lands accordingly to follow what the general population desires and not self-aspirations. Once Virginia figures this out, immigration will rise, and many other benefits will follow suit. One man states, "If a man has 1,000 acres of land in one to sell, let him divide it, and sell in five or ten tracts, so that poor people can buy. Inaugurate this system, and we shall find good result."

April 15-21, 1867

Walker Black

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