Agriculture In the North farmers were able to profit from the high demand for food created by the war In the South however battles devastated farmland and the freeing of the slaves ended a prosperous way of life for Southern farmers and planters When the Civil War started on April 12 1861 more than half the United States population lived on farms Agriculture made up three-quarters of exports In the South large-scale farmers planters used slaves to produce cotton sugarcane and tobacco while small scale farmers grew cotton for market and corn for their family In the North farmers raised wheat and corn to feed horses cattle and hogs Dairy farmers provided milk for city dwellers Feeding the armies The Civil War created a great demand for food to feed both armies In the South Confederate leaders urged farmers to raise more corn wheat and livestock and less cotton Cotton could not be sold because the Union blockade of Southern ports limited shipments The blockade also limited the South’s imports of food Many Southern farmers did plant more corn to feed people and livestock The Confederate government needed farmers and men to serve in the army The Confederacy passed the first of three conscription acts on April 16 1862 Southern men aged between 18 and 50 had to leave their farms Only planters who held public office or who owned at least 20 slaves were exempt As men left agricultural production declined Production suffered as slaves became reluctant to work as they anticipated their freedom particularly after the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1 1863 granted freedom to slaves in all states in rebellion Curriculum Context The differences between agrarian development in the North and the South are studied in some curricula Curriculum Context Some curricula ask students to understand the significance of cotton in the Southern economy before the war Conscription The compulsory drafting of individuals for military service 6 Home Front and the Economy
Food shortages in the South By 1863 the South experienced food shortages In April high food prices and shortages caused a bread riot in Richmond Virginia when a mob of women shouting Bread or Blood plundered stores for food Soon other Confederate cities experienced food riots and shortages spread to the army With demand high Southern farmers tried to profit from the war by asking high prices They were undercut by demand from the government Farmers complained that officials forced them to sell produce too cheaply or took produce without paying Some officials offered a piece of paper that only promised payment by the Confederate government As a result some Southern farmers hid their crops and livestock others refused to accept Confederate money When Union troops arrived in the South they also took produce They destroyed farm implements and railroads making it more difficult to produce and distribute food in the South Curriculum Context What do the food riots tell us about conditions on the home front in the South Slaves sort through cotton in South Carolina in 1861 Southern cotton production fell during the war as farmers concentrated on growing food for the army instead Agriculture 7
The Great Beefsteak Raid Texas cattlemen supplied beef to Southerners east of the Mississippi River until the summer of 1862 when the Union navy took control of the river Short of cattle the Confederates were reduced to cattle raids on Union troops On September 16 1864 General Wade Hampton and his cavalrymen appeared at Coggins Point in the rear of the Union army on the James River and carried off the entire beef supply of 2,486 cattle The Great Beefsteak Raid as it was called brought joy and relief to the hungry Rebels One soldier wrote home We are now having Yankee beef every day Sisters of the soldiers With so many men away women and children often worked in the fields tended livestock and sold produce In 1863 women harvested most of the wheat crop in South Carolina One observer called them brave and faithful women who are worthy to be sisters of the soldiers of our army Even so much of the heavy work could not be completed Production decreased dangerously when the army and people most needed food Confederate policy did not help The government urged ironworks to make guns rather than the plows reapers and corn shellers that were needed to produce more food The war in the North The experience in the North was different Troops took all the crops in Virginia but Northern farmlands were largely untouched Although about 40 percent of Union army conscripts aged between 18 and 35 were farmers or farmers sons agricultural production did not decline Older farmers immigrants discharged veterans and women took their places in the fields The North experienced only temporary and minor shortages of agricultural labor Northern farmers used profits from high agricultural prices to buy labor-saving machinery which could be operated by farm women to save on the cost of hiring workers at harvest time Curriculum Context The differences between agriculture in the North and the South are often studied among the causes of the Civil War 8 Home Front and the Economy
Northern farmers easily met their food needs Between 1861 and 1865 the North produced a food surplus exporting an average of 27 million bushels of wheat annually a dramatic increase from less than 8 million bushels from 1856 to 1860 Farmers produced more oats potatoes and butter Ohio farmers increased wool production to meet the demand for blankets and uniforms and to cover the loss of Southern cotton The end of slavery When the war ended in 1865 Southern farmers faced many problems In areas such as Virginia Georgia Tennessee Mississippi Louisiana and the coastal area of the Carolinas farms lay in ruins fields abandoned livestock killed or captured and farm equipment worn out or destroyed They were not reimbursed for commodities taken by Confederate officials or the Union When the war ended and all slaves were freed Southern planters lost at least 1 5 billion from their investment in slave labor Agricultural production almost ceased In 1861 Southern farmers and planters produced 4 5 million bales of cotton but only 299,000 bales in 1864 Finally 260,000 Confederate soldiers mostly farmers had been killed Overall the Civil War brought prosperity to most Northern farmers while it caused hardship for Southern farmers and planters Reimburse To pay someone financial compensation Curriculum Context Many states expect students to understand the economic problems facing the South at the end of the war and the start of Reconstruction Agricultural Reform The Union Congress passed three important agricultural acts in 1862 that would affect farming in the North and South after the war Congress created the United States Department of Agriculture which soon became the most important scientific agency devoted to improving agriculture In the same year it also passed the Morrill Land-Grant College Act which authorized the creation of at least one college in each state where agriculture and mechanical arts would be taught in order to improve farm life Finally Congress approved the Homestead Act which provided 160 acres of public domain free to any head of a household male or female who would live on it for five years and make improvements This expanded agricultural production into the vast western territories and new states and led to the opening up of new territories Agriculture 9
