Landscape of Ruin: The Southern Economy during Reconstruction

How do you replace enslaved labor and rebuild an economy?

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the Southern economy didn’t just have to recover; it had to reinvent itself. Join me as I explore how systems like sharecropping and the cotton lien system emerged to replace slavery, and why these systems often kept both Black and white farmers trapped in poverty.

This episode unpacks the economic realities of Reconstruction, revealing how freedom didn’t always come with opportunity—and how the structures put in place during this era shaped the South for generations.