The time following the civil war was hard for the South economically. However they were not the only ones who were having problems. The only difference is that other parts of the United States were very prosperous. One major issue, no matter what part of the country you worked in, was labor. In the time period of 1865-1880 the United States went through some major reforms regarding labor as well as some major technological advancements of agricultural production.
             After the Civil war the cotton king was dethroned in the U.S. In the Mississippi Valley grain farmers were becoming very prosperous. They were becoming specialists in not only the agricultural benefactors of farming but were becoming key players in the banking, manufacturing, and railroad industry. Competition was fierce. A farmer had to keep up with the latest technological advancement in farming if he wanted to make any type of profit. This entailed buying expensive machinery in order to plant and harvest crops. The speed of planting and harvesting was greatly increased.
             In California it was described as a country of plantations not gold. The new country was carving up Mexican land into vast fruit and vegetable crops. Cheep land was purchased from the Mexicans, and agriculture was ironically the first big business in California.
             Farmers had to be careful not to become chained to a one crop economy. For while prices were high farmers did well on one crop. If prices dropped, like they did in 1880 with wheat and corn, the farmers would be put into a situation very similar to the south and the cotton plantations.
             With the emancipation of the slaves after the Civil War, the South attempted to maintain their dominance of the blacks with the instatement of the black codes. Mississippi was the first to adopt the code but other states followed, each with its own variation. Te black codes gave Negro's their basic ri
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