What was it like for poor white people in American South before the Civil War?

by Redthrist

Traditionally, the South is shown as a society defined by racial division, with rich white plantation owners living a life of leisure, while their African slaves toil in harsh conditions.

But what about poor(or just not particularly well-off) white people? After all, they won't have enough money to have plantations or slaves, and with slavery being so ingrained in culture and economy, I assume there wasn't much of a market for paid labor either.

silverappleyard

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