How did the South keep railroad construction costs down?

It expanded small hubs.

It used prison labor and lobbied the federal government.

It joined rural areas with urban hubs.

It connected major cities with railroad lines for increased business.

ThecCorrect answer is the second statement: It used prison labor and lobbied the federal government.

Explanation:

It would take much time for the South to end its racist practices even after the Civil War (1861-1865) and the Reconstruction era (1865-1877).

One of the many racist practices that persisted in the South was the use of prison labor to build railroads. They took advantage of how the 13th Amendment abolished slavery except as a punishment for a crime and used this to keep using a type of labor they had complete control over. The vast majority of this prison labor was African-American.

After the Civil War, the federal government and Reconstruction state governments offered financial aid to create a "new South". Building railroads was seen as necessary to industrialize the region.