Question

Evidence in the excerpt can best be used to support which of the following arguments about the historical situation of the south after the civil war?

1) Some elite southerners opposed the growth of sharecropping.
2) Elections in the south were more democratic than in the north.
3) Some southern leaders promoted industrialization as progress.
4) Northern politicians hindered the economic recovery of the south.

Answer 1

The excerpts indicate that some southern leaders supported industrialization post-Civil War, aiming to diversify the economy beyond traditional plantation agriculture, though they faced significant challenges.

Step-by-step explanation:

The evidence in the provided excerpts can best be used to support the argument that some southern leaders promoted industrialization as progress for the historical situation of the South after the Civil War. The passages discuss how some reformers, investors, and industrialists sought to create a New South, urging a shift from the antebellum focus on plantation agriculture to a more diversified economy. They envisioned a South that blended traditional values with the profitability of Northern industry. Additionally, the discussion of the South's continued production of cotton at depressed prices, further disenfranchisement due to high interest rates and borrowing, and the lack of investment and innovation also points to the challenges faced by those who were attempting to bring about economic change in the region.