- Industrialization: The New South promoted industrialization, with cities like Atlanta, Birmingham, and Charlotte emerging as industrial hubs. Textile mills, iron and steel foundries, and furniture manufacturing became significant industries.
- Cotton Production Decline: The boll weevil infestation devastated cotton crops, leading to a decline in the region's reliance on agriculture and a shift towards diversification of crops and industries.
Social Changes:
- Segregation: Jim Crow laws and segregation were deeply entrenched, enforcing racial separation in public facilities, transportation, and education, disenfranchising African Americans from political participation.
- African American Migration: The Great Migration saw millions of African Americans move from the rural South to urban centers in the North, Midwest, and West, seeking economic opportunities and escaping discrimination.
- Women's Suffrage: Southern states were among the last to grant women the right to vote, with some, like Mississippi, resisting women's suffrage until 1969.
Political Changes:
- Rise of the Democratic Party: The Solid South emerged, with the Democratic Party dominating Southern politics. This was partly due to the disenfranchisement of African Americans and the Republican Party's association with the unpopular Reconstruction era.
- Redistricting: Gerrymandering and other political maneuvers were used to disenfranchise African American voters and maintain the political dominance of whites.
Cultural Changes:
- Music and Literature: The South experienced a cultural renaissance with the rise of influential writers, such as William Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston, and Flannery O'Connor. Jazz and blues music flourished in cities like New Orleans and Memphis.
- Urbanization: The growth of cities transformed Southern society, bringing new economic opportunities, cultural diversity, and challenges related to urban poverty and infrastructure development.