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The Civil War Reduced Slave Owners’ Economic Power but Increased Their Political Influence

Author

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  • Bellani, Luna

    (Ulm University)

  • Hager, Anselm

    (Humboldt University Berlin)

  • Maurer, Stephan

    (UPF Barcelona School of Management)

Abstract

Did Southern elites’ economic losses from abolition translate into diminished political influence? Using novel census-linked data on state lawmakers across four slave-owning and two Northern states (1850–1880), we document a striking paradox: despite the massive wealth shock of emancipation, the political influence of former slave owners increased during Reconstruction and its aftermath. We show that former slave owners won office at similar rates as in the antebellum period and secured more committee assignments. Comparable patterns are not visible among wealthy legislators in Northern comparison states. This suggests that Southern elites responded to economic loss by tightening their grip on formal political institutions. Our findings point to formal political institutions as one channel through which defeated economic elites preserved influence during Reconstruction and its aftermath.

Suggested Citation

  • Bellani, Luna & Hager, Anselm & Maurer, Stephan, 2026. "The Civil War Reduced Slave Owners’ Economic Power but Increased Their Political Influence," IZA Discussion Papers 18650, IZA Network @ LISER.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18650
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bellani, Luna & Hager, Anselm & Maurer, Stephan E., 2022. "The Long Shadow of Slavery: The Persistence of Slave Owners in Southern Lawmaking," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(1), pages 250-283, March.
    2. Eric Chyn & Kareem Haggag & Bryan A. Stuart, 2024. "Inequality and Racial Backlash: Evidence from the Reconstruction Era and the Freedmen’s Bureau," NBER Working Papers 32314, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    6. Philipp Ager, 2013. "The Persistence of de Facto Power: Elites and Economic Development in the US South, 1840-1960," Working Papers 0038, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    7. Patrick A Testa & Jhacova Williams, 2026. "Political Foundations of Racial Violence in the Post-Reconstruction South," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 141(1), pages 733-794.
    8. Logan, Trevon D., 2023. "Whitelashing: Black Politicians, Taxes, and Violence," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 83(2), pages 538-571, June.
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • N31 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • N41 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913

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