What were the economic conditions in the South during the Civil War?

They looked favourable at the beginning, because they thought they could export their cotton in exchange for war supplies.

But the Union navy was able to blockade the Southern ports. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation deterred free nations abroad from trading with the Confederates for fear of looking pro-slavery). Southern manufacturing industry had to be improvised from scratch. And the Confederate dollar plummeted in the second half.

Finally, Sherman's punitive raids reduced troops and civilians to utter poverty.