Since the South as a whole favors prohibition of the liquor traffic the representatives of the people are almost unanimously in favor of prohibition, forgetting all constitutional scruples and all questions of state rights. The sentiment for woman suffrage is not yet overwhelming and consequently, as might be surmised, conscientious scruples prevent representatives from voting for the extension of the franchise. In two States, however, the friends of woman suffrage, though not strong enough to pass a constitutional amendment, have realized their aim by a brilliant coup. Since most elections are practically settled in the primaries, the legislatures of Texas and Arkansas gave women the right to vote in such elections. In other words, women were given the right to help nominate candidates, though they are excluded from the formal elections. Whether these acts will stand in the courts has not been determined. Missouri and Tennessee have recently given national suffrage to women, and Oklahoma has given full suffrage.
The negro has been practically eliminated as a voter, but the decision of the Supreme Court in the Oklahoma case may make necessary the revision of some state constitutions. Enough restrictions remain, however, to make white supremacy reasonably secure for the present. As the aim is one upon which the white South is practically agreed, some other expedients will be devised if those now in use must be discarded. There is absolutely no desire for a wholesale restoration of the negro vote, though, of course, Republican conventions denounce the disfranchising acts and constitutional amendments. If the control of the Southern States should be gained by the Republican party, unlimited negro suffrage would hardly be restored unless such action were forced by the party in the nation at large. In the last extremity the South would suffer loss of representation rather than face the consequences of unrestricted negro suffrage.
Socially the South is in a state of ferment. Old standards are passing, some of them very rapidly, and the younger generation is inclined to smile at some of the attitudes of the old. The "typical Southerner" who flourishes within the pages of F. Hopkinson Smith and Thomas Nelson Page is extremely rare outside of them. Most of the real Southern colonels are dead, and the others are too busy running plantations or cotton mills to spend much time discussing genealogy, making pretty speeches, or talking about their honor. Not so many colonels are made as formerly, and one may travel far before he meets an individual who fits the popular idea of the type. He is likely to meet more men who are cold, hard, and astute, for the New South has developed some perfect specimens of the type whose natural habitat had been supposed to be Ulster or the British Midlands—religious, narrow, stubborn, and very shrewd.
A sense of social responsibility is developing in the South. Kindness has always been shown to the unfortunate and the afflicted, but it has been exhibited toward individuals by individuals. If a Southerner heard of a case of distress in his neighborhood, he was quick to respond. Real neighborliness has always existed, but the idea of responsibility for a class was slow to develop. Such an idea is growing, however. More attention has been given to the condition of jails and almshouses during the last ten years than in the whole preceding century. To be sure, the section is now becoming rich enough to afford the luxury of paupers, but the interest in socialized humanitarian endeavor lies deeper. Perhaps the fact that negroes formed the larger part of the criminal and dependent classes had something to do with the past neglect. The Old Testament doctrine that the criminal should suffer the consequences of his act has had its effect, and the factor of expense has not been forgotten. Some of the States still permit county commissioners to commit the care of the poor to the lowest bidder. On the other hand the poorhouse has been transformed into a "Home for the Aged and Infirm" in some States, and inspections of public institutions by the grand jury are becoming more than merely cursory. State boards of charities are being established, and men have even attacked members of their own political parties on the charge of incompetence, cruelty, or neglect of duty as keepers of prisons or almshouses. Hundreds of towns have their associated charities, and scores have visiting nurses. Where there is only one nurse, she visits negroes as well as whites, but many towns support one or more for negroes as well.
In former days orphans were "bound out," if no relatives would take them, and in that case they might not always be properly treated. At the present time not only States and municipalities support asylums, but religious denominations and fraternal orders manage many well-conducted institutions. The problem of the juvenile delinquent is being recognized, as several States already have institutions for his care. So far little has been done for the young negro offender, whose home training is likely to be most deficient and who needs firm but kindly discipline; but the consciousness of responsibility for him also is developing. Increasing prosperity alone cannot account for the multiplication of these agencies for social betterment. A new social interest and a new attitude of mind are revealed in these activities.
There are still some communities where social position is based upon birth and where the old families still control; but these regions are becoming less numerous. The Old South was never quite so aristocratic as the North believed, and today the white South is much more nearly a democracy than New England. Even in 1860 this was true of some parts of the South, as compared with some parts of New England. The rural South was always democratic except in comparatively limited areas, and it is so everywhere today. In those communities which have felt the new industrial spirit the question of birth plays little part. Any presentable young man can go where he chooses. In such communities the tendency—apparently inevitable in industrial societies—to base social distinctions upon wealth and business success is beginning to show itself. The plutocrats, however, are not yet numerous enough to form a society of their own and must perforce find their associates among their fellow townsmen.
One does not lose social position in the South by engaging in business or by working with his hands. It may easily happen that in the afternoon you may purchase a collar or a pair of shoes from a young man whom you will meet in the evening at the house of the local magnate. The granddaughter of a former governor or justice of the Supreme Court comes home from her typewriter and her brother from the cotton mill or the lumber yard. Social life in a small town—and most Southern towns are small—is simple and unpretentious, although here too the influence of prosperity is beginning to be manifest. Social affairs are more elaborate than they were ten or fifteen years ago, and there is also less casual expression of informal hospitality. The higher prices of food and the increasing difficulties of the servant problem have doubtless put some restraint upon the spirit of hospitality but perhaps more important is the fact that more of the men must keep regular hours of business and that women are developing interests outside the home.
Social affairs are almost entirely in the hands of women. The older men come somewhat unwillingly to receptions in the evening, but the presence of a man at an afternoon tea is unusual. The Southerner of the small towns and cities puts away play with his adolescence. The professional man seldom advertises the fact that he has gone hunting or fishing for a day or a week, as it is thought to be not quite the thing for a lawyer to be away from his office for such a purpose. Golf has gained no foothold except in the larger towns, and even there the existence of the country club is often precarious. Few males except college youths will be seen on the tennis court, if indeed there be one even in a town of five thousand people. Professional men keep long hours, though they might be able to do all their work in half the time they spend in their offices.
The theory of the Old South contemplated different spheres of activity for men and women. The combined influence of St. Paul and Sir Walter Scott is responsible for a part of this theory, though its development was probably inevitable from the structure of society in the Old South. A woman's place was the home. As a girl she might live for enjoyment and spend her time in a round of visits, but she was expected to give up frivolity of all sorts when she married. Society in the South was almost entirely the concern of the unmarried. Women seldom took a prominent part in any organization, and a woman speaking in public was regarded as a great curiosity. Not so many years ago the missionary society, and perhaps the parsonage aid society, were almost the only organizations in which women took a part. In recent years church and educational organizations have multiplied, and today there are numerous women's clubs devoted to many different objects. Southern women are active in civic leagues, associated charities, and other forms of community endeavor; they are prominent in various patriotic societies; and there are many suffrage societies. Where the laws permit, women are members of school boards; they often head organizations of teachers composed of both men and women, and at least one woman has been chosen mayor of a town.
Women have done more than the men to keep alive in the South the memories of the past. Perhaps because the women of the older generation suffered more than the men, they have been less willing to forget, and their daughters have imbibed some of the same feeling. The Daughters of the Confederacy have been more bitter than the Sons of Veterans or than the veterans themselves. The effect of recent events upon their psychology has been interesting. In the Great War their sons and grandsons were called to go overseas, and the national government was brought closer to them than at any other time for more than forty years. It is idle to insist that before this there had been any ardent affection in the South for the United States. There had been acceptance of the national situation, perhaps an intellectual acknowledgment that all may have been for the best, but no warm nationalism had been developed before the Great War came. Loyalty was passive rather than active.