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Part Forty-Seven: The Aftermath of the National War
Oh my goodness! Could this be? It is! Two updates in one week! 
Part Forty-Seven: The Aftermath of the National War
Economic Effects of National War: The National War had a great impact on both the economies of the northern and southern United States in the years following it. In the southern states, the largest impact by far was the conversion of former slaves working on plantations into free American citizens. Many newly freed blacks concentrated in cities such as New Orleans and Montgomery. Some fled north with their new found freedom to try and find a job there. Most freed blacks stayed on the plantations that they had lived on prior to the National War, but were now paid by their former owners. Railroad construction in the south helped stimulate its recovery, but overall the economy in the former Confederacy was still slow due to a reliance on single cash crops such as cotton. Cotton production and exports in the southern states especially declined due to foreign markets such as Britain and France turning to cotton from India and Egypt.
The slump in agricultural production in the southern United States also led to the first development of major urban and industrial centers in the region. Fueled by the influx of black laborers and the switch of production on some plantations from cash crops like cotton to food crops such as rice in the Lower Mississippi, cities such as New Orleans and Montgomery flourished in the late nineteenth century. With the development of textile industries in those two cities, railroads from the Carolinas and Georgia soon wound their way westward to support the movement of cotton. Other gulf port cities developed as well to support the growing economy in Cuba. Pensacola continued to grow and a new harbor sprung up in Tampa Bay[1], which soon had a railroad link to Jacksonville. But aside from the Mississippi valley, the Gulf coast, and exceptional areas such as Montgomery, the southern United States experienced a rather slow recovery in the decades following the National War.
The development of the northern states after the National War was rather different from that of the southern states. The fighting that Cincinnati endured during the war drove many factories and producers away from the city and to cities away from the Ohio River. The river lost much of its steamship traffic as railroads were built through Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. Indianapolis became a major rail hub in the Old Northwest as rail lines replaced the old steamer routes toward the Mississippi River. The states in the Old Northwest were further assisted by Fremont's push to begin construction of the Transcontinental Railroad.
Three major cities, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Saint Louis quickly expanded as steel mills and other industries flocked to the cities and as people passed thorugh on their way to the plains states and the Pacific or up north to Minneapolis or Duluth. These three cities became what was known as the Northern Industrial Triangle for much of the later nineteenth century and into the twentieth. This development helped the northern states recover faster from the National War than their southern brethren and only increased the economic disparity between the two regions.
Demographic Effects of National War: The shift in the economic centers of the United States in the 1860s was brought about by major shifts in population, and also brought about some population movements of its own. At the end of the National War, several freed blacks from the southern states moved to the cities or migrated north. Some even headed out west to work on the railroads that began crisscrossing the Great Plains in the 1870s and 1880s. The settling of freed slaves in cities such as New Orleans and Memphis helped the cities and their states flourish in the latter half of the 19th century.
The urbanization of the area along the Mississippi brought about some special challenges to city planners. A couple cities brought in Ildefons Cerda to plan the growth of the cities, who inspired the style of urban planning known as Cerdismo[2]. Cerda gained fame for designing a grand plan for the expansion of Barcelona in 1859[3], and was commissioned by several American cities including Ferroplano, Memphis, and Chicago to design plans for the cities in the aftermath of the National War. Cerda would return to Spain under the reign of Alfonso XII, but his mark on these American cities was permanent. After the Great Fire of 1871, Memphis took advantage of Cerda's planning expertise and redesigned itself as a premiere modern city.
The plantation owners of the former Confederate states did not fare well in the years following the National War. Many who wanted to maintain their life as slaveowners or simply could not keep financing their plantations left the United States, going to Veracruz, Costa Rica, Colombia, or Brazil, which still permitted slavery. Those plantation owners who stayed faced several economic problems with the transfer to wage labor. Some had to switch production from cotton to a less profitable crop. Others sold their plantations and moved to the major cities to try and get a better life in the economic downturn of the late 1870s.
The northern population also experienced a change following the economic shift. As mentioned previously, Saint Louis, Chicago, and Indianapolis flourished along with Cairo, Illinois due to transportation links and a general shift west in the population and economic centers of the country. Saint Louis and Chicago each recorded over 300,000 people in the 1870s census whereas they had just over 100,000 in 1860, and Indianapolis jumped to over 100,000 people from just 20,000 a decade before, replacing Cincinnati on the top ten most populous cities in the United States[4]. Meanwhile, the populations of the east coast cities began to shift as more immigrants from southern Europe came to the United States during the turmoil brought on by the Six Years' War and the Grand Unification War. The shift in population toward the Mississippi helped encourage westward expansion in the next few decades and fueled a number of new businesses and technological advancements.
[1] It needs a name. I was thinking Gadsden, or something more Spanish. Suggestions would be welcome.
[2] Cerdismo incorporates a mostly grid system with wide boulevards optimized for pedestrian and urban railway traffic and includes large green areas.
[3] Cerda published his Eixample or Enlargement in 1859 in OTL as well, which effectively planned Barcelona's growth for the next century. ITTL he gains more fame and work than he did in OTL.
[4] I'm planning on making a list of top ten US cities at each census.
Part Forty-Seven: The Aftermath of the National War
Economic Effects of National War: The National War had a great impact on both the economies of the northern and southern United States in the years following it. In the southern states, the largest impact by far was the conversion of former slaves working on plantations into free American citizens. Many newly freed blacks concentrated in cities such as New Orleans and Montgomery. Some fled north with their new found freedom to try and find a job there. Most freed blacks stayed on the plantations that they had lived on prior to the National War, but were now paid by their former owners. Railroad construction in the south helped stimulate its recovery, but overall the economy in the former Confederacy was still slow due to a reliance on single cash crops such as cotton. Cotton production and exports in the southern states especially declined due to foreign markets such as Britain and France turning to cotton from India and Egypt.
The slump in agricultural production in the southern United States also led to the first development of major urban and industrial centers in the region. Fueled by the influx of black laborers and the switch of production on some plantations from cash crops like cotton to food crops such as rice in the Lower Mississippi, cities such as New Orleans and Montgomery flourished in the late nineteenth century. With the development of textile industries in those two cities, railroads from the Carolinas and Georgia soon wound their way westward to support the movement of cotton. Other gulf port cities developed as well to support the growing economy in Cuba. Pensacola continued to grow and a new harbor sprung up in Tampa Bay[1], which soon had a railroad link to Jacksonville. But aside from the Mississippi valley, the Gulf coast, and exceptional areas such as Montgomery, the southern United States experienced a rather slow recovery in the decades following the National War.
The development of the northern states after the National War was rather different from that of the southern states. The fighting that Cincinnati endured during the war drove many factories and producers away from the city and to cities away from the Ohio River. The river lost much of its steamship traffic as railroads were built through Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. Indianapolis became a major rail hub in the Old Northwest as rail lines replaced the old steamer routes toward the Mississippi River. The states in the Old Northwest were further assisted by Fremont's push to begin construction of the Transcontinental Railroad.
Three major cities, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Saint Louis quickly expanded as steel mills and other industries flocked to the cities and as people passed thorugh on their way to the plains states and the Pacific or up north to Minneapolis or Duluth. These three cities became what was known as the Northern Industrial Triangle for much of the later nineteenth century and into the twentieth. This development helped the northern states recover faster from the National War than their southern brethren and only increased the economic disparity between the two regions.
Demographic Effects of National War: The shift in the economic centers of the United States in the 1860s was brought about by major shifts in population, and also brought about some population movements of its own. At the end of the National War, several freed blacks from the southern states moved to the cities or migrated north. Some even headed out west to work on the railroads that began crisscrossing the Great Plains in the 1870s and 1880s. The settling of freed slaves in cities such as New Orleans and Memphis helped the cities and their states flourish in the latter half of the 19th century.
The urbanization of the area along the Mississippi brought about some special challenges to city planners. A couple cities brought in Ildefons Cerda to plan the growth of the cities, who inspired the style of urban planning known as Cerdismo[2]. Cerda gained fame for designing a grand plan for the expansion of Barcelona in 1859[3], and was commissioned by several American cities including Ferroplano, Memphis, and Chicago to design plans for the cities in the aftermath of the National War. Cerda would return to Spain under the reign of Alfonso XII, but his mark on these American cities was permanent. After the Great Fire of 1871, Memphis took advantage of Cerda's planning expertise and redesigned itself as a premiere modern city.
The plantation owners of the former Confederate states did not fare well in the years following the National War. Many who wanted to maintain their life as slaveowners or simply could not keep financing their plantations left the United States, going to Veracruz, Costa Rica, Colombia, or Brazil, which still permitted slavery. Those plantation owners who stayed faced several economic problems with the transfer to wage labor. Some had to switch production from cotton to a less profitable crop. Others sold their plantations and moved to the major cities to try and get a better life in the economic downturn of the late 1870s.
The northern population also experienced a change following the economic shift. As mentioned previously, Saint Louis, Chicago, and Indianapolis flourished along with Cairo, Illinois due to transportation links and a general shift west in the population and economic centers of the country. Saint Louis and Chicago each recorded over 300,000 people in the 1870s census whereas they had just over 100,000 in 1860, and Indianapolis jumped to over 100,000 people from just 20,000 a decade before, replacing Cincinnati on the top ten most populous cities in the United States[4]. Meanwhile, the populations of the east coast cities began to shift as more immigrants from southern Europe came to the United States during the turmoil brought on by the Six Years' War and the Grand Unification War. The shift in population toward the Mississippi helped encourage westward expansion in the next few decades and fueled a number of new businesses and technological advancements.
[1] It needs a name. I was thinking Gadsden, or something more Spanish. Suggestions would be welcome.
[2] Cerdismo incorporates a mostly grid system with wide boulevards optimized for pedestrian and urban railway traffic and includes large green areas.
[3] Cerda published his Eixample or Enlargement in 1859 in OTL as well, which effectively planned Barcelona's growth for the next century. ITTL he gains more fame and work than he did in OTL.
[4] I'm planning on making a list of top ten US cities at each census.
- wilcoxchar
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