Post-Civil War Southern Society

Following the Civil War's conclusion in 1865, the U.S. government initiated a Reconstruction plan aimed at rebuilding the South and reuniting the nation. Reconstruction spanned from 1865 to 1877. During this period, southern states established new governments and revised their constitutions. By 1870, all former Confederate states had rejoined the Union, though many northern Republicans opposed efforts by southern legislatures to limit African American freedoms. Despite these challenges, Reconstruction governments introduced new social programs and organizations, including public school systems. Additionally, southern states invested heavily in repairing their war-torn infrastructure, such as railroads, bridges, and public buildings.

Initially, African Americans were hopeful about their futures. In 1866, Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment, granting equal citizenship to African Americans. A few years later, the Fifteenth Amendment was passed, ensuring that the right to vote could not be denied based on race. African Americans actively participated in government, serving as delegates at state constitutional conventions and in Reconstruction legislatures.

However, despite these advancements, southern states began enacting Black Codes as early as 1866. These laws severely restricted African American freedoms. Many African Americans remained tied to the land through sharecropping, where they worked a piece of land in exchange for a share of the crop. This system kept most African-American and white sharecroppers in poverty. Economic opportunities for African Americans were scarce, and they faced threats from the Ku Klux Klan, which opposed their civil rights and used violence to intimidate them. By the late 1800s, the New South began to resemble the Old South. As Democrats regained control of southern state governments, they started to dismantle Reconstruction reforms. They implemented poll taxes and literacy tests to disenfranchise African Americans. Southern states also enacted Jim Crow laws, enforcing racial segregation. In 1896, the Supreme Court's decision in Plessy v. Ferguson upheld the "separate but equal" doctrine, which remained in effect until 1954.

In response to these restrictions, African Americans formed their own social institutions and adopted various strategies to combat discrimination. In his 1895 Atlanta Compromise speech, Booker T. Washington advocated for peaceful coexistence and cooperation between African Americans and whites to achieve economic progress. His stance that African Americans should focus on economic development rather than protesting discrimination angered others who believed in actively opposing unfair treatment. Ida Wells-Barnett and W. E. B. DuBois highlighted racial discrimination, with Wells-Barnett encouraging African Americans to migrate North, where discrimination and violence were less severe.

The American Economy

By the end of the nineteenth century, the American economy was experiencing significant transformations. A gold and silver mining boom attracted many Americans to the west, while others opted to settle in the Great Plains, lured by affordable land and fertile soil ideal for farming. The second industrial revolution, commencing in the late 1800s, triggered a period of rapid growth in U.S. manufacturing. By the mid-1900s, the United States emerged as the world's industrial leader. This era saw the expansion of big businesses and an increase in the number of new factories. Many immigrants, arriving in increasing numbers during the late 1800s, found employment in these factories. As the U.S. population doubled between 1860 and 1900, the number of farms tripled. Modern machinery enabled farmers to produce crops at unprecedented speeds. However, the surge in farm numbers and productivity led to overproduction and subsequently lower crop prices. By 1893, a stock market panic had plunged the United States into a depression.

The American Woman

In the late 1800s, women gained greater access to higher education but often struggled to secure jobs. While women could work in fields such as teaching, social work, and library management, professions like law and medicine remained predominantly male. Women who were denied careers frequently channeled their energies into various reform movements. Many participated in the temperance movement, which aimed to outlaw the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States. Additionally, numerous women joined the fight for suffrage. For instance, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony established the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1890. In the 1890s, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming granted women full suffrage.

Plantation Life

Although Chopin wrote all her fiction after the Civil War had emancipated African-American slaves, the setting of ‘‘Désirée's Baby’’ reflects the well-documented histories of antebellum Southern plantation life. Before the Civil War, the Southern economy was heavily dependent on slave labor to operate numerous plantations and smaller farms. Cotton was the primary crop, with plantations stretching from North Carolina to Texas. Additionally, sugar cane and rice were widely cultivated in Louisiana. Despite the fact that by 1860, less than 12 percent of Southern planters owned more than twenty slaves, these affluent individuals dominated Southern society. The wealthiest planters resided in luxurious mansions, often imported fine goods from abroad, and sent their sons to Europe for the ''Grand Tour.’’ Despite such opulence, many planters had limited liquid assets, as much of their wealth was tied up with brokers who purchased their crops and supplied them with household goods and farm equipment.

The majority of labor on the plantation was carried out by slaves, while the plantation owner oversaw operations, delegated tasks to supervisors or slaves, maintained business records, and collaborated with ship owners, bankers, and brokers. The plantation mistress managed the spinning, weaving, mending, housecleaning, and food preparation. Over 75 percent of African-American slaves toiled on southern plantations. Both adults and children endured long hours of work, whether in the fields or within the slaveholder's residence.

Chopin empathizes with the struggles of Black individuals during the Civil War era, especially those of mixed heritage. Although she doesn't preach in her story, she highlights the atrocities of slavery and its dehumanizing effects on both slaves and their owners. Plantation owners like Armand, who believe in their racial superiority, are depicted without any redeeming qualities. They possess a misguided sense of pride. Armand, representing the archetype of the brutal slave owner, is incapable of forming genuine human connections.

Armand's sense of superiority stems from his identity as a Creole and a Caucasian male, leading him to believe that this racial dominance entitles him to own others. To Armand, ownership extends beyond land to include slaves and the women he "acquires." When Armand accuses Desiree of her "deception" and compares her to La Blanche, Chopin underscores the inherent contradictions of the slave system. This system allows white men to possess women of both races and facilitates sexual relations between white men and Black women, resulting in mixed-race offspring who suffer from compounded oppression. Armand deems La Blanche suitable as a concubine but not as a wife. When Desiree gives birth to a mixed-race child, he deems her unworthy as well. Armand is so entrenched in projecting inferiority onto others that he cannot acknowledge his own potential culpability. Children born from these unions are ostracized in a society built on white supremacy. This ideology not only degrades those it oppresses but also those who perpetuate it. In Armand, Chopin paints a picture of the typical southern planter who is incapable of love and blind to the reality beneath appearances.

Chopin delves into the theme of a woman seeking her identity by depicting a world where both Blacks and women are subservient to white men. She draws a clear parallel between female subjugation and slavery. Desiree lacks an identity separate from her husband and ultimately chooses death when he rejects her. Her self-esteem is intertwined with Armand's approval, leading her to feel disgraced when she believes she has dishonored his family. Neither Desiree nor Armand knows the true origins of the baby's Black heritage, as they are both unaware of their own ancestries. Armand holds all the power, and thus Desiree takes the blame.

Armand is unmistakably depicted as the antagonist in the story, while Desiree is shown as the victim. However, Chopin prompts the reader to consider whether Armand might also be a victim. It is possible that he is trapped by the same societal system that oppresses women and Black people. Armand has been indoctrinated to believe in his superiority and his entitlement to exploit others for his own gain, which ultimately makes him a victim of tragedy as well.

Existing within such a system grants Armand the right to ownership, but it deprives him of understanding the human condition and shared responsibility. Consequently, he is denied the joy of equitable relationships.

1890s: Cotton is the predominant crop for numerous southern farmers, with its price experiencing significant volatility. Despite this, cotton production is increasing, and by the mid-1890s, over twenty million acres are harvested.

Today: U.S. cotton prices vary between $0.47 and $1.13 per pound. The United States continues to lead the world in cotton exports, selling 6.8 million bales internationally in 1999-2000.

1890s: By the late 1890s, American farmland covers approximately 841 million acres. Nearly 44 percent of these farms are situated east of the Mississippi River, while 56 percent are located to the west. About 10.2 million Americans are employed in agriculture.

Today: By the mid-1990s, American farmland spans about 972 million acres. Of this, only 21 percent of farms are east of the Mississippi River, with almost 79 percent to the west. Farming now contributes to less than 2 percent of the United States' gross national product, employing around 3.6 million Americans.

1890s: By the mid-1890s, Louisiana's population exceeds 1,100,000, including 559,000 African Americans.

Today: By 1998, Louisiana's population is approximately 4,400,000, with 1,400,000 African Americans. About 15 percent of the state's residents are engaged in agricultural work.

1860: During the antebellum period, the majority of African Americans in the south are enslaved. In 1860, slaves account for 34 percent of the southern population, while free African Americans—numbering around 260,000—constitute about 2 percent.

1890s: By the time Chopin writes ‘‘Désirée's Baby,’’ the Thirteenth Amendment has abolished slavery.

Today: While most countries have eradicated slavery, it persists in certain regions of Africa, Asia, and South America. The Anti-Slavery Society for the Protection of Human Rights in London estimates that over 200 million impoverished people are still subjected to forms of servitude.

1890s: In 1896, 130,334 African Americans in Louisiana participate in voting.

Today: There are 902,000 African Americans of voting age in Louisiana.

1890s: In 1896, 125,000 American families possess estates valued at $50,000 or more, out of a total population of about 70 million.

Today: Only 6.5 percent of Americans have a net worth exceeding $100,000. There are 16.5 million American families with incomes of $50,000 or more, from a total of just over 101 million families. Of these, 14.8 million families are white.