The area of Georgetown went from one of the wealthiest districts prior to the Civil War, to one of the poorest. Lee Brockington, senior interpreter at Hobcaw Barony, discusses the impact of the ending of slavery, and how that affected plantation owners.
Reconstruction, the country coming to terms with the consequences of the Civil War, also meant the end of slavery. The end of the Civil War had a drastic impact on the economy of the low country. One of those problems was the transition from “slave labor” to “free labor.” African-Americans no longer wanted to work for Whites, and they wanted to own land, while Whites wanted to keep Blacks in a situation as close to slavery as possible. Reconstruction was the first time in American history where the country tried to unite Whites and African-Americans as political equals, and we are still facing some of these problems in present times. Historian Eric Foner joins to discuss the ramifications of the Reconstruction era in Hobcaw Barony.
The 1880s is seen as the last gasp of the “Rice Kingdom” in the Southeast United States. Some rice was grown after the Civil War, but it was nowhere near the cash crop that it used to be. Mary E. Miller, Belle Baruch biographer, and historian Dale Rosengarten talk about the economic hardships rice farmers faced in the early 20th century, and the impacts on the rice industry by millionaire Bernard Baruch.
The area of Georgetown went from one of the wealthiest districts prior to the Civil War, to one of the poorest. Lee Brockington, senior interpreter at Hobcaw Barony, discusses the impact of the ending of slavery, and how that affected plantation owners.
Reconstruction, the country coming to terms with the consequences of the Civil War, also meant the end of slavery. The end of the Civil War had a drastic impact on the economy of the low country. One of those problems was the transition from “slave labor” to “free labor.” African-Americans no longer wanted to work for Whites, and they wanted to own land, while Whites wanted to keep Blacks in a situation as close to slavery as possible. Reconstruction was the first time in American history where the country tried to unite Whites and African-Americans as political equals, and we are still facing some of these problems in present times. Historian Eric Foner joins to discuss the ramifications of the Reconstruction era in Hobcaw Barony.
The 1880s is seen as the last gasp of the “Rice Kingdom” in the Southeast United States. Some rice was grown after the Civil War, but it was nowhere near the cash crop that it used to be. Mary E. Miller, Belle Baruch biographer, and historian Dale Rosengarten talk about the economic hardships rice farmers faced in the early 20th century, and the impacts on the rice industry by millionaire Bernard Baruch.
Standards
- 4.5.CX Contextualize the economic, labor, political, and social conditions in South Carolina during the period of Reconstruction.
- 4.5.E Analyze multiple perspectives of the economic, political, and social effects of Reconstruction on different populations in the South and in other regions of the U.S.
- 8.3.P Analyze the Civil War Amendments (i.e., 13th, 14th, and 15th) as a turning point in the economic, political, and social structures of South Carolina.
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the changes that served as a catalyst for Reconstruction. The indicator was also designed to promote inquiry into how these actions affected the economic, political, and social conditions in the South.
- 8.3.CX Evaluate the economic significance of agriculture on South Carolina, the U.S., and the world.
- This indicator was designed to encourage inquiry into the economic implications of the expansion of the rice and cotton industries. This indicator was also developed to promote inquiry into Westward Expansion, the mutually beneficial impact of cotton on Northern factories and southern plantations, and the emerging national and international markets.
- 8.3.CC Analyze debates and efforts to recognize the natural rights of marginalized groups during the period of expansion and sectionalism.
- This indicator was designed to encourage inquiry into the continuities and changes of the experiences of marginalized groups such as African Americans, Native Americans and women, as the U.S. expanded westward and grappled with the development of new states.
- 8.3.E Utilize a variety of primary and secondary sources to analyze multiple perspectives on the effects of the Civil War within South Carolina and the United States.
Resources
A PBL About South Carolina’s Reconstruction Constitutions
Students will examine Reconstruction from a legislative point of view and a social point of view using guiding questions and activities to examine the Reconstruction Constitutions of 1865, 1868, and...
View LessonBetween the Waters – Analyzing Historical Photographs Activity
Students will examine and analyze the historical photographs found on the sites, Between the Waters, Georgetown County Digital Library, and the Belle W. Baruch Collection .
View LessonBetween The Waters, Part 1
1000 BC – 900 AD is known as the “Woodland Period” of Hobcaw Barony’s history. The area of Hobcaw was inhabited by the Waccamaw Native American tribe. The name Hobcaw means “Between the Waters” in the...
View AssetBetween The Waters, Part 2
In the 16th century, Spanish and English settlers came to colonize Hobcaw Barony. This was a dark time for the Waccamaw people, for Spaniards colonized Waccamaw land without regard for the natives...
View AssetBetween The Waters, Part 3
In the 18th and 19th centuries, rice was the most produced crop in the United States, and provided the most wealth. Historian Daniel Littlefield, and botanist Richard Porcher, discuss rice’s African...
View AssetBetween The Waters, Part 5
Many families of former slaves still lived in old slave housing, but the prospects of jobs, better housing, and food, were very appealing for Hobcaw’s African American communities. During the 1930s...
View AssetBetween The Waters, Part 6
Robert McClary, who used to work for Bernard Baruch, moved to Hobcaw Barony in 1937. The McClary family visits Hobcaw Barony in March 2015, and explore some of the locations significant to Robert...
View Asset
