The word "antebellum" comes from two Latin words, meaning "before" and "war," respectively. The war in question, of course, is the American Civil War. Before that war, the South was the richest section of the country. In fact, Mississippi was the richest state. The plantation mansions that survived the war stand as testaments to the wealth of the plantation owners in the time when cotton was king African American people were exploited for cheap labor.