Life feels easy and wonderful for Scarlett, Brent, and Stuart, all of whom are from wealthy, prominent planter families. But really, class struggles are roiling the South. Wealth is concentrated among a few extremely wealthy planters, leaving many more poor farmers. Although many poor farmers have great character, they are looked down upon as less than “gentlemen” because they don’t have money. The war reveals this divide, as some Southerners are able to contribute monetarily to the Confederate Cause while others are not. The war has already started to destabilize the South’s hierarchical class structure.