The Civil War and its aftermath devastated the economy of the southern United States.  The economic effects of the war can be seen by comparing the Census of 1860 to the Census of 1870, at the level of individual counties.

The following images were generated from ArcView GIS software.  They consist of county-level thematic maps showing selected Census variables for the years 1860 and 1870, as well as changes between 1860 and 1870.  Data is mapped by 1860 county boundaries.  1870 data from new counties formed by splitting 1860 counties has been reaggregated to the older, 1860 boundaries.

Two datasets, both obtained from the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), were utilized for the study.  ICPSR study number 3 is entitled "Historical, Demographic, Economic and Social Data: the United States, 1790-1970."  It contains selected Census variables at the state and county level for each census year from 1790 to 1970.  The 1860 dataset contains 373 variables,  and the 1870 dataset contains 189 variables.

ICPSR study number 6576 is entitled "County Longitudinal Template," by Patrick M. Horan and Peggy G. Hargis.  It contains correspondence codes that allow counties in any census year (from 1840 onwards) to be clustered into the equivalent, larger counties of an earlier census year.  Census data for the later year can then be aggregated to match the earlier county boundaries, and direct comparisons can be made between the counties of the earlier  year and the clustered counties of the later year.

These two datasets were processed and matched through SPSS software, and the results exported to ArcView GIS.

Click on the map title or small image for the full image (about 100k each).

Map 1: 1860 Percent population in slavery

Map 2: 1860 Slaves per square mile

Map 3: 1860-1870 Percent change in population

Map 4: 1860-1870 Percent change in farm land under cultivation

Map 5: 1860-1870 Percent change in farm value

Map 6: 1860-1870 Percent change in livestock value

Map 7: 1860-1870 Percent change in manufacturing employment

Map 8: 1860-1870 Percent change in manufacturing products value

Map 9: 1870: Manufacturing employment as percentage of population

Map10: 1870: Manufacturing employment per square mile
 

References:

Horan, Patrick M., and Peggy G. Hargis. COUNTY LONGITUDINAL TEMPLATE, 1840-1990 [Computer file]. ICPSR version. Athens, GA: Patrick M. Horan, University of Georgia, Dept. of Sociology/Statesboro, GA: Peggy G. Hargis, Georgia Southern University, Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology [producers], 1995. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1995.

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. HISTORICAL, DEMOGRAPHIC, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL DATA: THE UNITED STATES, 1790-1970 [Computer file]. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [producer and distributor], 197?.