South wished only to be let alone.

During this apathetic period there was some talk of the natural
resources of the South; but there was little attempt on the part of
Southerners to utilize these resources. There was talk of interesting
foreign capital, but little effective work was done to secure such
capital. Many men feared the new problems which such development might
bring in its train, while others, more numerous, were merely
indifferent or lukewarm. Many of those who vaguely wished for a change
did not know how to set about realizing their desires. The few men who
really worked to stimulate a quicker economic life about 1880 had a
thankless and apparently a hopeless task.

Yet one must be careful not to write of the South as if it were a single
country, inhabited by a homogeneous people. Historians and publicists
have spoken, and continue to speak, of "Southern opinion" and of the
"Southern attitude" as if these could be definitely weighed and
measured. No one who really knows the whole South could be guilty of
such a mistake. The first difficulty is to determine the limits of the
South. The census classification of States is open to objection.
Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia are included in the South, and so
is Kentucky. Missouri is excluded, but a place is made for the new State
of Oklahoma. As to Delaware and Maryland, there may be a difference of
opinion, though it is difficult to justify the inclusion of the former.
West Virginia is certainly not Southern, socially, politically, or
economically. Kentucky is doubtful, and it is difficult to see why
Missouri should be excluded from any list which includes Kentucky.
Oklahoma is difficult to classify. But, at any rate the South is a
large country, with a great variety of soil, climate, and population. As
the crow flies, the distance from Richmond to Memphis, in an adjoining