POST-CIVIL WAR ACCOUNTING PRACTICES IN NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI

Abstract

This paper explores the accounting practices and cultural setting of a general merchandise store located in Natchez, Mississippi during the post-Civil War period in 1865. The store ledger records complete sales and payroll entries from January through December 1865. The facts concerning the store came from a “cash book” (referred to as the ledger) that recorded financial transactions both prior to and after the Civil War [Holland, 1837]. Our article asserts that, in spite of devastating economic conditions, merchandisers in general were able to continue as central figures in daily lives in the Natchez area.