THE NEGRO AT THE CLOSE OF THE CIVIL WAR 17 
control of the whites from the Black Belt caused 
the industrious Negroes to suffer from the thiev- 
ing of the worthless ones. No longer could poul- 
try, pigs, sheep, and other domestic animals be 
raised. Excessive hospitality—in part a result of 
the solid race feeling—made it difficult for an 
industrious Negro to save anything, for his 
trifling friends and relatives would descend 
upon him and consume his substance. The crop 
stealing evil, which was not checked until after 
Reconstruction, also helped to keep down the 
honest and industrious Negro. The former 
wealthy sections, such as the interior Black Belt 
and the Sea Island cotton and rice country, were 
not for years again developed for agriculture. In 
general the outlook for the economic independ- 
ence of the race was not favorable. Under such 
conditions the most sensible assistance that 
could have been given was the opportunity for 
self-help and training in thrift and economy by 
the Freedmen’s Bank. 
REFERENCES 
This account of economic conditions among the Negroes is based upon 
the following authorities: 
Andrews, The South since the War. 
Avary, Dixie after the War. 
Botume, First Days among the Contrabands. 
Dixon, W. H., White Conquest, 
Eaton, Grant, Lincoln and the Freedmen. 
Fleming, W. L., Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama. 
Fleming, W. L., Documentary H, istory of Reconstruction, Vol I, pp. 9-95; 
Vol. 11, Pp. 276, 298. 
Freedmen’s Bureau Reports, 1865-1869. 
Garner, J. W., Reconstruction in Mississippi. 
Knox, Whip, Hoe and Sword.