Two Paths to The New South: The Virginia Debt Controversy, 1870—1883

In the grim decades after the Civil War, Southerners dreamed of industrial growth and agricultural diversification. In this study, Mr. Moore traces the development and changes that took place in the Old Dominion during these troubled postbellum years.

The state's massive debt burden touched off an upheaval, splintering the electorate into competing Funder and Readjuster factions. The Funders, composed largely of the conservative farmers of eastern Virginia and the commercial classes of the towns, were committed to pay off Virginia's prewar debt in full. The Readjusters, drawing their support from the fringe elements of society, sought a more realistic, downward adjustment of the debt.

James Tice Moore is assistant professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University.