Final answer:
The Southern culture and economy were primarily agricultural, with a large portion of the economy based on plantation-style agriculture and little urban or industrial development. Hence, the correct answer is option (D).
Step-by-step explanation:
The Southern culture and economy prior to the 20th century was primarily agricultural. Large-scale plantation-style agriculture was the main economic system, especially in the context of poor soils and a lack of coastal sources of industrial energy which would have been necessary for widespread industrialization. Instead of urban or suburban development, the South continued to rely on agriculture, which included the cultivation of tobacco, cotton, and rice by either slaves or by poor whites and blacks in the post-Civil War era.
Urbanization and industrialization did not take root significantly in the South until much later, as the region remained largely rural and economically underdeveloped into the 20th century. This contrasted sharply with the development in other regions of the United States, where urban culture began to replace agrarian culture, leading to issues like urban crime and a widening gap between the rich and the poor as well as a shift from personal economic relationships to more depersonalized, cash-based transactions.