Why were the plantation owners in particularly bad financial shape after the Civil War?
Answer By the terms “plantation owners” I will assume you mean those few large land owners who owned the steriotypical plantations like in the movies. In reality this was not the norm. The norm was the small farmer/share cropper. These plantation owners had financial problems after the war for several reasons: 1. They lost their slaves. 2. Their land and property were destroyed by raiders/pillagers. 3. Many spent their fortune to help the Confederacy in outfitting troops. 4. Taxes were assessed to the properties by the Radical Republicans as a means to get reparations for the war. Many lost their properties for these taxes.
