---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Southern slave economy, sharecroppers…"
description: "\"“Southern slave economy, sharecroppers after that, coal miners after that, and machinists and millworkers during more recent times.”\" — J.D. Vance"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/j-d-vance-3503_coal-miners_southern-slave-economy-sharecroppers-aft_746508.jpg"
---

#  Southern slave economy, sharecroppers after that, coal…

![“Southern slave economy, sharecroppers after that, coal miners after that, and machinists and millworkers during more recent times.” quote by J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/j-d-vance-3503_coal-miners_southern-slave-economy-sharecroppers-aft_746508.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/j-d-vance-3503_coal-miners_southern-slave-economy-sharecroppers-aft_746508.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/j-d-vance-3503_coal-miners_southern-slave-economy-sharecroppers-aft_746508.jpg)

> ““Southern slave economy, sharecroppers after that, coal miners after that, and machinists and millworkers during more recent times.””

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote outlines the historical shift of labor in the South from slavery to sharecropping, then to mining and manufacturing.

**In simple terms:** Work in the South changed from agriculture to industry over time.

Key Takeaway

Recognize how economic transitions affect communities.

Themes

history labor economics social change regional development

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

historical sociological

When to use this quote

- policy analysis
- education reform
- community development
- historical research

Key Concepts

class structure industrialization economic mobility

Questions to Reflect On

- How did each transition reshape community identity?
- What policies could mitigate negative impacts of such shifts?

A Different Perspective

It may oversimplify complex regional dynamics and ignore individual agency.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Coal miners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coal-miners/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/)

## Related quotes

> [“...Rusche and Kirchheimer relate the different systems of punishment with the systems of production within which they operate: thus, in a slave economy, punitive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/rusche-and-kirchheimer-relate-the-different-systems-of-punishment/)

[Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/)

> [“The German economic historian Fanz Oertel in the 1950s points to another drastic consequence of a slave economy. A slave economy initially allowed an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/the-german-economic-historian-fanz-oertel-in-the-1950s-points-to/)

[Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/)

> [There are millions of white Americans today who still can barely bring themselves to acknowledge that the Civil War, with its twin Americas locked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/there-are-millions-of-white-americans-today-who-still-can-barely/)

[Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/)

> [But the fact is we did have colonies in the east of Poland, we did have a slave economy there. But this is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olga-tokarczuk/but-the-fact-is-we-did-have-colonies-in-the-east-of-poland-we-did/)

[Olga Tokarczuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olga-tokarczuk/)

> [“There is an ethnic component lurking in the background of my story. In our race-conscious society, our vocabulary often extends no further than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/there-is-an-ethnic-component-lurking-in-the-background-of-my-story-in/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

> [The capital amassed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries through various forms of slave economy is still in circulation, said De Jong, still bearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-capital-amassed-in-the-eighteenth-and-nineteenth-centuries/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I didn't even watch the soaps when I was in them because it's like a coal miner coming home and staring at the coal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-kemp/i-didn-t-even-watch-the-soaps-when-i-was-in-them-because-it-s-like-a/)

[Ross Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-kemp/)

> [The coal miners are working. But there's more than just coal miners in West Virginia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ojeda/the-coal-miners-are-working-but-there-s-more-than-just-coal-miners-in/)

[Richard Ojeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ojeda/)

> [Every time you warm yourself in front of a hot coal stove, remember the coal miners in the cold dark corridors and pray for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/every-time-you-warm-yourself-in-front-of-a-hot-coal-stove-remember/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [Predators, they're the best coal miners' canary. When they're gone, you've got a sick ecosystem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/predators-they-re-the-best-coal-miners-canary-when-they-re-gone-you/)

[Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/)

> [I was really shocked after all of this talk about coal miners and all of this talk about Buy America, the Republicans and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/i-was-really-shocked-after-all-of-this-talk-about-coal-miners-and-all/)

[Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/)

> [My mom's family was farmers and coal miners. They were very hardworking folks. My dad was an attorney and ran his own firm. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendra-scott/my-mom-s-family-was-farmers-and-coal-miners-they-were-very/)

[Kendra Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendra-scott/)

> [Coal is not dear for the coal-miner who can use it there and then, nor is khadi dear for the villager who manufactures his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/coal-is-not-dear-for-the-coal-miner-who-can-use-it-there-and-then-nor/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Stacks of job-killing Executive Orders and regulations from the Obama era need to be repealed or rolled back. At the top of the stack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-moore/stacks-of-job-killing-executive-orders-and-regulations-from-the-obama/)

[Stephen Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-moore/)

> [“Now don't think I've lost my mind - but I'll tell you, I'll look at some of the cards I have, some of Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/now-don-t-think-i-ve-lost-my-mind-but-i-ll-tell-you-i-ll-look-at-some/)

[Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/)

## More by J.D. Vance

> [“Wed don't need to live like the elites of California, New York, or Washington, D.C. We don't need to work a hundred hours a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/wed-don-t-need-to-live-like-the-elites-of-california-new-york-or/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

> [“Within two generations, the transplanted hillbillies had largely caught up to the native population in terms of income and poverty level.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/within-two-generations-the-transplanted-hillbillies-had-largely/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

> [“Powerful people sometimes do things to help people like me without really understanding people like me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/powerful-people-sometimes-do-things-to-help-people-like-me-without/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

> [“Research does reveal a genetic disposition to substance abuse, but those who believe their addiction is a disease show less of an inclination to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/research-does-reveal-a-genetic-disposition-to-substance-abuse-but/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

> [“But I often wonder: Where would I be without them? I think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/but-i-often-wonder-where-would-i-be-without-them-i-think/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

> [“the first impulse is escape, but people who lurch toward the exit rarely choose the right door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/the-first-impulse-is-escape-but-people-who-lurch-toward-the-exit/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

> [“was my first indication that the policies of Mamaw’s “party of the working man”—the Democrats—weren’t all they were cracked up to be. Political scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/was-my-first-indication-that-the-policies-of-mamaw-s-party-of-the/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

> [“A young man was sitting at home when a terrible rainstorm began. Within hours, the man’s house began to flood, and someone came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/a-young-man-was-sitting-at-home-when-a-terrible-rainstorm-began/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

> [“As a culture, we had no heroes. Certainly not any politician--Barack Obama was then the most admired man in America (and likely still is),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/as-a-culture-we-had-no-heroes-certainly-not-any-politician-barack/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

> [“To this day, being able to “take advantage” of someone is the measure in my mind of having a parent. For me and Lindsay,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/to-this-day-being-able-to-take-advantage-of-someone-is-the-measure-in/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

> [“As one book, Appalachian Odyssey, notes about the influx of hill people to Detroit: “It was not simply that the Appalachian migrants, as rural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/as-one-book-appalachian-odyssey-notes-about-the-influx-of-hill-people/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

> [“As a 2011 Brookings Institution study found, “compared to 2000, residents of extreme-poverty neighborhoods in 2005–09 were more likely to be white, native-born, high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/as-a-2011-brookings-institution-study-found-compared-to-2000/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

> [“There was, and still is, a sense that those who make it are of two varieties. The first are lucky: They come from wealthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/there-was-and-still-is-a-sense-that-those-who-make-it-are-of-two/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

> [“We spend to pretend that we’re upper-class. And when the dust clears—when bankruptcy hits or a family member bails us out of our stupidity—there’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/we-spend-to-pretend-that-we-re-upper-class-and-when-the-dust-clears/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

> [“Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Chaos begets chaos. Instability begets instability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/out-of-the-frying-pan-and-into-the-fire-chaos-begets-chaos/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

[Explore all 127 J.D. Vance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

## More Coal miners quotes

> [“Now don't think I've lost my mind - but I'll tell you, I'll look at some of the cards I have, some of Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/now-don-t-think-i-ve-lost-my-mind-but-i-ll-tell-you-i-ll-look-at-some/)

[Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/)

> [Stacks of job-killing Executive Orders and regulations from the Obama era need to be repealed or rolled back. At the top of the stack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-moore/stacks-of-job-killing-executive-orders-and-regulations-from-the-obama/)

[Stephen Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-moore/)

> [Coal is not dear for the coal-miner who can use it there and then, nor is khadi dear for the villager who manufactures his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/coal-is-not-dear-for-the-coal-miner-who-can-use-it-there-and-then-nor/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [My mom's family was farmers and coal miners. They were very hardworking folks. My dad was an attorney and ran his own firm. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendra-scott/my-mom-s-family-was-farmers-and-coal-miners-they-were-very/)

[Kendra Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendra-scott/)

> [I was really shocked after all of this talk about coal miners and all of this talk about Buy America, the Republicans and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/i-was-really-shocked-after-all-of-this-talk-about-coal-miners-and-all/)

[Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/)

> [Predators, they're the best coal miners' canary. When they're gone, you've got a sick ecosystem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/predators-they-re-the-best-coal-miners-canary-when-they-re-gone-you/)

[Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/)

> [Every time you warm yourself in front of a hot coal stove, remember the coal miners in the cold dark corridors and pray for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/every-time-you-warm-yourself-in-front-of-a-hot-coal-stove-remember/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [The coal miners are working. But there's more than just coal miners in West Virginia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ojeda/the-coal-miners-are-working-but-there-s-more-than-just-coal-miners-in/)

[Richard Ojeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ojeda/)

> [I didn't even watch the soaps when I was in them because it's like a coal miner coming home and staring at the coal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-kemp/i-didn-t-even-watch-the-soaps-when-i-was-in-them-because-it-s-like-a/)

[Ross Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-kemp/)

> [I believe the nearest I've come to perfect love was with a young coal-miner when I was about 16.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/i-believe-the-nearest-i-ve-come-to-perfect-love-was-with-a-young-coal/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [“Lots of Lincoln people had been to Chicago, and some even to New York, but very few had any firsthand knowledge of what Europe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-maxwell/lots-of-lincoln-people-had-been-to-chicago-and-some-even-to-new-york/)

[William Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-maxwell/)

> [“Kim Il-sung had promised North Koreans three bowls of rice every day. Rice, especially white rice, was a luxury in North Korea. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-demick/kim-il-sung-had-promised-north-koreans-three-bowls-of-rice-every-day/)

[Barbara Demick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-demick/)

> [A distant cousin sent me some genealogy report on my father's side, and it's sort of what I suspected. Coal miners for generations... four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-mckee/a-distant-cousin-sent-me-some-genealogy-report-on-my-father-s-side/)

[Gina McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-mckee/)

> [When we ask what ought to be the relative remunerations of a nurse or a butcher, or a coal miner and a judge at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/when-we-ask-what-ought-to-be-the-relative-remunerations-of-a-nurse-or/)

[Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/)

> [Despite the frequent use of coal miners as a potent political symbol, coal jobs are disappearing - and they're not coming back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/despite-the-frequent-use-of-coal-miners-as-a-potent-political-symbol/)

[Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/)

[Browse all 49 Coal miners quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coal-miners/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Southern slave economy, sharecroppers after that, coal miners after that, and machinists and millworkers during more recent times.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "J.D. Vance"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/southern-slave-economy-sharecroppers-after-that-coal-miners-after/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Coal miners"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/southern-slave-economy-sharecroppers-after-that-coal-miners-after/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/j-d-vance-3503_coal-miners_southern-slave-economy-sharecroppers-aft_746508.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/j-d-vance-3503_coal-miners_southern-slave-economy-sharecroppers-aft_746508.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/j-d-vance-3503_coal-miners_southern-slave-economy-sharecroppers-aft_746508.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Southern slave economy, sharecroppers after that, coal miners after that, and machinists and millworkers…” — J.D. Vance",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "J.D. Vance",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Southern slave economy, sharecroppers after that,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/southern-slave-economy-sharecroppers-after-that-coal-miners-after/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/southern-slave-economy-sharecroppers-after-that-coal-miners-after/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
