An Economic Comparison between Georgia and Mississippi

By Shari Peoples

            Life in the Postbellum era of southern America was marked by destruction of both the economic structure and ideologies that were at the very heart of its existence. Recovery would require a commitment to rebuilding from the ashes of war and development of industry that would build and sustain the economy. For states that tried to continue their old agrarian systems, recovery would be much slower than states focused on strengthening industrial assets. A look back at the recovery attempts of Georgia and Mississippi showcases how Georgia was able to recover more quickly as it focused on industrialization and restoring transportation while Mississippi struggled with its continued dependence on agriculture.  

             In his most notable speech, Henry Grady, of Georgia, proudly presented the people of the south as deserving of northern sympathies and, having seen the error of their ways, amiable to northern views of slavery. Though General Sherman had left a trail of ashes, Grady declared that “we (Georgia) have raised a brave and beautiful city…We have let economy take root and spread among us,” citing no grudge against the north. [1] For Georgia, there was great significance in the rebuilding, as a major part of the destruction was to the railway system, which impacted transportation of goods and travel, significantly impacting the state’s economy. According to Stover, it was the railroad that made Georgia one of the largest states prior to the war. At the end of the war, while it still had a significant size rail system, Georgia’s railroads were in great disrepair.[2] Despite facing corruption and various types of fraud along the way, the railroads of Georgia were able to boost the economy as they were not only reconstructed but extended.[3]

            In the period following the Civil War, Mississippi was not as successful in rebuilding its infrastructure but was more intent on holding to its agriculture-based economy, It did not fare as well in the subsequent years as did Georgia. Some of this can be seen in comparing property values between the two states. According to reports by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the counties with the highest property values in 1860 were Issaquena at $40, Coahoma at $32, and Bolivar at $29 (prices are per acre). In 1870 these same counties property values had significantly dropped to $22 in Issaquena, $23 in Coahoma, and $14 in Bolivar. The trend in these values was consistent across the state with similar percentage drops in most counties, some reflecting even larger percentage loss in value. Fifteen years after the war had ended, the values were still in decline, and it was not until 1890 that the three counties began to recover their previous valuations.[4]

            An examination of property values in Georgia over the same time period tells quite a different story and clearly reflects the transportation improvements that were made in the Postbellum period. In 1860, the highest property values reflected by the Department of Agriculture were in Chatham (Savannah) at $22. Baker, Bibb (Macon), and Catoosa all were valued at $10 and one of the lower values was De Kalb (Atlanta) with a value of only $6 per acre. The only one of these counties to see a significant drop in values in 1870 was Baker, down to $3. Chatham fell to $17 and Catoosa to $7. Bibb stayed the same, and DeKalb actually rose to $7. There are two standout counties which represent major cities in Georgia and were part of Sherman’s destructive campaign in the final days of the Civil War, Chatham, which saw a 50% increase in property values by 1890 at $36 and DeKalb which had nearly quadrupled at $20 in the thirty-year period.[5]

             Another measure of these two states in the Postbellum period can be found in the costs of goods and rent. In Georgia, the cost of a dozen eggs was $.23 in 1867 and $.21 in 1874. Eggs were higher in Mississippi in 1869 at $.30 but that price was comparable to Georgia by 1874 at $.22. Another item that started higher in Mississippi was molasses from New Orleans. It was Just $.94 per gallon in Georgia in 1867 and $.87 by 1874. Mississippi sold that same product for $1.25 in 1867 and just $$.90 in 1874. Rent looked much different when comparing the two states, as they reflected higher property values in Georgia. In 1867 there was not much difference between the rents with a six-room tenement costing $26.50 in Georgia and $28.00 in Mississippi. By 1874 the gap had clearly widened with that same tenement costing $35.00 in Georgia and just $15.00 in Mississippi.[6]

            Years of recovery in the southern states during the Postbellum period were difficult as they faced the need to rebuild what had been devastated and destroyed by war. The plantation way of life known for generations was uprooted, leaving lives and economies in chaos. It was in the efforts to restore lost infrastructure and find new industry that Georgia was able surpass Mississippi in its reconstruction efforts and build connections with the rest of the country.

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[1] Grady, Henry. “The New South.” in The Complete Orations and Speeches of Henry W. Grady, edited by Edwin DuBois Shurter (New York: Hinds, Noble & Eldredge, 1910), 14.

[2] Stover, John F. “Georgia Railroads During the Reconstruction Years.” Railroad History, no. 134 (1976), 56–58.

[3] Ibid.63-64.

[4] Barnard, Charles H. Farm Real Estate Values in the United States by Counties, 1850-1982. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 1987), 52.

[5] Ibid, 18.

[6] Young, Edward. Labor in America: Rates of Wages and Cost of Subsistence in the United States and British America in the Year 1874 as Compared with Previous Years. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1875), 64-65.