Henry Grady Sells the "New South"

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Author:

Center for History and New Media/American Social History Project

Subject:

Humanities

Institution Name:

American Social History Project/Center for History and New Media

Collection:

Many Pasts (CHNM/ASHP)

Grade Level:

Secondary, Post-secondary

Abstract:

The vision of a "New South" was heralded by southern landowners, entrepreneurs, and newspaper editors in the decades following the Confederacy's defeat in 1865 and the abolition of racial slavery across the South. These "New South" boosters argued that, with its plantation economy destroyed by the Civil War and Reconstruction, the South would develop a new economy more attuned to the industrial capitalism that defined the rest of the American economy. Atlanta Constitution editor Henry Grady was the leading exponent of a "New South" based on industrial development, giving speeches throughout the country and writing articles and editorials in his newspaper. Both of the following speeches by Grady--one given in Boston in 1889, the other in New York in 1886--conveyed not only the message of industrialization as a panacea, but also Grady's fierce regional pride and his general moderation on racial issues, which were becoming increasingly contentious in these years.

Languages:

English

Material Type:

Primary Source

Media Format:

Text/HTML

Conditions of Use:

Custom License
Fair Use for educational purposes

Copyright Holder:

Copyright 1998-2005 American Social History Productions, Inc. All rights reserved.