Describe and explain how the economy of the pre-Civil War South was similar to...

Most people do not know what "economy" means, so they can not give any reliable report on the subject.

Greek 'oikonomia' means a household. The English word means management, as in the class "Home Economy". Since management always boils down to pinching pennies, the word comes to mean frugality. But it still means management.

Did you buy something today? Let's suppose you bought a pencil. Which one? Did you look for a brand, or a color, or just grab one displayed near the checkout line? Whatever your decision was, you cast a vote for that exact detail, voting with your money. All the buying decisions in an area make up the economy of that area, usually measured in the local currency for the sake of convenience.

The only possible answer to this question is "WTF are you talking about?"