Question

"status quo ___" describes how the south wanted to revert to pre-war lifestyles.

Answer 1

the answer  is
antebellum

Answer 2

The status quo ante bellum what describes the current state of a affairs of country in a period of war. Status quo ante bellum describes how the conditions in a country were prior to a war, and how the conditions have changed since and after the war, and it also gives into reasoning why people desire to go back to the conditions in the country before the war took place.