AP U.S. History Flashcards: The “New South”
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Review key ideas with interactive flashcards. This set includes 10 cards to help you master important concepts.
What was the primary economic activity in the “New South” despite calls for industrialization?
Agriculture based on sharecropping and tenant farming continued to be the primary economic activity in the region.
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What was the primary economic activity in the “New South” despite calls for industrialization?
Agriculture based on sharecropping and tenant farming continued to be the primary economic activity in the region.
How did African American reformers respond to increased discrimination in the “New South”?
Despite facing immense challenges, African American reformers continued to fight for political and social equality.
What impact did Plessy v. Ferguson have on the political progress made during Reconstruction?
It helped to dismantle the political gains African Americans had achieved by legally sanctioning segregation and reinforcing a system of racial inequality.
What was the significance of the Supreme Court's decision in Plessy v. Ferguson?
This decision upheld the principle of racial segregation, which helped to mark the end of most political gains African Americans made during Reconstruction.
What challenges did African Americans face in the “New South” era?
African Americans faced increased violence, discrimination, scientific racism, and the legal codification of racial segregation through Plessy v. Ferguson.
Identify a major economic *change* promoted in the “New South.”
The industrialization of parts of the Southern economy was a significant change promoted by regional leaders.
What was the “New South”?
A concept promoted by leaders who called for the industrialization of some segments of the Southern economy to move beyond its agricultural past.
What is sharecropping?
An agricultural system where tenant farmers worked land owned by others in return for a share of the crops, which remained a primary economic activity in the “New South.”
Explain the central contradiction of the “New South” idea between 1877 and 1898.
The central contradiction was the gap between the promoted vision of a modern, industrialized South and the reality of an economy still dominated by traditional agriculture and racial segregation.
Identify a major economic *continuity* in the “New South” from 1877 to 1898.
The continued dominance of agriculture, specifically the systems of sharecropping and tenant farming, was a major economic continuity.