Past the Myth: Confronting Real Issues about Southern Industrialization

Abstract

Southern Industrialization Project (SIP), an organization of over 100 aca demic and public historians devoted to the study of southern industrialization, held its fifth annual meeting at Kennesaw State University in suburban Atlanta on March 23-24, 2001. In keeping with the theme of getting past the myth in considering southern industrialization, many of the papers presented at the meeting dealt with industry in the supposedly nonindustrialized antebellum South. roles of labor and technology in the industrialization of both the Old and New South received particular attention. meeting included three ses sions and a keynote address. first session examined the role of slavery in Virginia's antebellum coal industry and the impact of the American system and bureaucratic control in the Confederate ordnance industry. In Nature's Blessing, Slavery's Curse: Frustrating Story of Virginia's Richmond Coal Basin, Sean P. Adams (Univer sity of Central Florida) explained why the Richmond coal mining industry, which dated back to 1767, failed to live up to the promise predicted by luminaries such as Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Adams placed much of the blame on colliers' use of slaves in the mines. use of slave labor?which was often rented?was expensive, and the costs limited possibilities for the expan sion of the mines or investment in technological improvements. East Virginia coal production peaked in the 1830s but dwindled to insignificance by 1860, largely because of its reliance on slave labor. Moving slightly ahead in time, Steven G. Collins (St. Louis Community College, Meramec) delivered a paper entitled The Confederate Ordnance De partment and Southern Industrialization. This paper examined the influence of the American system of interchangeable parts and the system of bureaucratic control developed in the railroad industry upon the Confederate Ordnance De partment. Confederate Ordnance Department tried to adopt the American system and bureaucratic control and succeeded to a greater extent than most other Confederate enterprises. These efforts improved the efficiency and qual ity of production at many Confederate arsenals, despite the emergence of ob stacles as the war dragged on, such as shortages of necessary materials. Collins concluded that the Confederate Ordnance Department achieved significant re sults in implementing bureaucratic control and developing technological im provements in manufacturing. Moreover, the department's achievements led to greater emphasis on the need for scientific education in the postbellum South. second session examined technology and industry in two southern