Builders of a New South : Merchants, Capital, and the Remaking of Natchez, 1865–1914

__Builders of a New South__ describes how, between 1865 and 1914, ten Natchez mercantile families emerged as leading purveyors in the wholesale plantation supply and cotton handling business, and soon became a dominant force in the social and economic Reconstruction of the Natchez District. They were able to take advantage of postwar conditions in Natchez to gain mercantile prominence by supplying planters and black sharecroppers in the plantation supply and cotton buying business. They parlayed this initial success into cotton plantation ownership and became important local businessmen in Natchez, participating in many civic improvements and politics that shaped the district into the twentieth century. This book digs deep in countless records (including census, tax, property, and probate, as well as thousands of chattel mortgage contracts) to explore how these traders functioned as entrepreneurs in the aftermath of the Civil War, examining closely their role as furnishing merchants and land speculators, as well as their relations with the area's planters and freed black population. Their use of favorable laws protecting them as creditors, along with a solid community base that was civic-minded and culturally intact, greatly assisted them in their success. These families prospered partly because of their good business practices, and partly because local whites and blacks embraced them as useful agents in the emerging new marketplace. The situation created by the aftermath of the war and emancipation provided an ideal circumstance for the merchant families, and in the end, they played a key role in the district's economic survival and were the prime modernizers of Natchez. An account of the business lives of and freedmen, whites, plantation and store owners in a thriving, Deep South commercial center

Builders of a New South describes how, between 1865 and 1914, ten Natchez mercantile families emerged as leading purveyors in the wholesale plantation supply and cotton handling business and soon became a dominant force in the social and economic Reconstruction of the Natchez District. They were able to take advantage of postwar conditions in Natchez to gain prominence by serving planters and black sharecroppers in the plantation supply and cotton-buying business. They parlayed this initial success into cotton plantation ownership and became important local businessmen, participating in many civic improvements and politics that shaped the district into the twentieth century.

This book digs deep in countless records--including census, tax, property, and probate, as well as thousands of chattel mortgage contracts--to explore how these traders functioned as entrepreneurs in the aftermath of the Civil War. It examines closely their role as furnishing merchants and land speculators, as well as their relations with the area's planters and freed black population. Their use of favorable laws protecting them as creditors, along with a solid community base that was civic-minded and culturally intact, greatly assisted them. These families prospered partly because of their good business practices and partly because local whites and blacks embraced them as useful agents in the emerging marketplace. In the end, they played a key role in the district's economic survival and were the prime modernizers of Natchez.

This book describes how, between 1865 and 1914, ten Natchez mercantile families emerged as leading purveyors in the wholesale plantation supply and cotton handling business, and soon became a dominant force in the social and economic Reconstruction of the Natchez District. They were able to take advantage of postwar conditions in Natchez to gain mercantile prominence by supplying planters and black sharecroppers in the plantation supply and cotton buying business. They parlayed this initial success into cotton plantation ownership and became important local businessmen in Natchez, participating in many civic improvements and politics that shaped the district into the twentieth century. This book digs deep in countless records (including census, tax, property, and probate, as well as thousands of chattel mortgage contracts) to explore how these traders functioned as entrepreneurs in the aftermath of the Civil War, examining closely their role as furnishing merchants and land speculators, as well as their relations with the area’s planters and freed black population. Their use of favorable laws protecting them as creditors, along with a solid community base that was civic-minded and culturally intact, greatly assisted them in their success. These families prospered partly because of their good business practices, and partly because local whites and blacks embraced them as useful agents in the emerging new marketplace. The situation created by the aftermath of the war and emancipation provided an ideal circumstance for the merchant families MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict Cover 1 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 INTRODUCTION: A New Merchant System 12 CHAPTER 1 Old Ways and New Realities 20 CHAPTER 2 Merchant Communities 49 CHAPTER 3 Crop Liens, Freedmen, and Planters 80 CHAPTER 4 A New Kind of Planter 121 CHAPTER 5 Merchant Life and Social Capital 151 CHAPTER 6 A Dangerous Business 189 Summary and Conclusion 223 Notes 230 Selected Bibliography 266 Index 280 A 280 B 280 C 281 D 282 E 282 F 282 G 283 H 283 I 283 J 284 K 284 L 284 M 285 N 285 O 286 P 286 R 287 S 287 T 288 U 288 V 288 W 288 Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 8 INTRODUCTION: A New Merchant System......Page 12 CHAPTER 1 Old Ways and New Realities......Page 20 CHAPTER 2 Merchant Communities......Page 49 CHAPTER 3 Crop Liens, Freedmen, and Planters......Page 80 CHAPTER 4 A New Kind of Planter......Page 121 CHAPTER 5 Merchant Life and Social Capital......Page 151 CHAPTER 6 A Dangerous Business......Page 189 Summary and Conclusion......Page 223 Notes......Page 230 Selected Bibliography......Page 266 B......Page 280 C......Page 281 F......Page 282 I......Page 283 L......Page 284 N......Page 285 P......Page 286 S......Page 287 W......Page 288