Economic conditions in the South were far worse than in the North. Confederate soldiers had little chance of taking up where they had left off. In some areas, every house, barn, and bridge had been destroyed. Two thirds of the South's railroad tracks had been turned into twisted heaps of scrap. The cities of Columbia, Richmond, and Atlanta had been leveled.
The war wrecked the South's financial system. After the war, Confederate money was worthless. People who had loaned money to the Confederacy were never repaid.
Question
Use the passage to answer the question.
Why would the loss of farms make it especially difficult for the Southern economy to recover?
(1 point)
Responses
Many Southern industries would fail without the crops.
The Southern economy was largely based on agriculture.
Most Southerners could not afford to rebuild their farms.
The South would not be able to grow surplus crops for sale.
1 answer
The correct response is:
The Southern economy was largely based on agriculture.
The loss of farms would make it especially difficult for the Southern economy to recover because agriculture was the foundation of the South's economy. Without farms, there would be little to no production of crops, significantly hindering economic recovery.
