These Powerful Historical Photographs Reveal Life In The Deep South Like Never Before

Scarred by defeat in the Civil War, much of the Deep South was to endure years of economic underdevelopment and racial friction. These images – many from the earliest days of photography – give an unrivaled insight into what life was truly like in the Old South. From abundant peanut harvests to Mississippi steamers laden with cotton, these powerful images show a region gradually getting back on its feet.

40. Confederate soldier

This image was taken in 1862, and we’re fortunate enough to have a few scant biographical details about the boy. This somber-looking youth’s name was Maximilian Cabanas. After enlisting with the Confederate States Army, he was captured by Union soldiers. Tragically, he later perished in a prisoner-of-war encampment in the North when he was just 16 years old.

39. After the Civil War

The Civil War is not long over, and it has had a massive impact on these African-Americans, seen here in an unknown location in the South. With the Union victory, they are some of the 4 million souls freed from slavery. For these individuals, despite the obvious benefit of freedom, the future is uncertain in a land devastated by conflict. Reconstruction, the process of rebuilding the nation after the bitter war, has barely begun.

38. Atlanta University

Four young students pose on some steps at Atlanta University, Georgia, in about 1900. The opportunity for African-American women to study at this level was still rare in those times. The photographer was Thomas Askew, himself something of an outlier in his era since he was Atlanta’s first African-American photographer, having started life as a slave.

37. Migrant workers

These travelers, who have journeyed north from Florida, have stopped for a roadside break near Shawboro, North Carolina. They’re actually heading all the way up to Cranbury, New Jersey where seasonal work harvesting potatoes awaits them. Jack Delano, later the official government photographer for Puerto Rico, took this image in July, 1940.