This blog post features "The New South."

My methodology and analyses aim to generate a premium research topic that meets the accountability standards of academic institutions. I will immediately start my work by securing a research workroom and employing a methodological approach that allows me to begin my inquiry right away. This topic will help me to gain insights into an engaged academic community that achieves results by utilizing local libraries and museums. This will contribute directly to my economic discoveries regarding the American New South. I discovered over one hundred fifty collections of original personal and professional documents, artifacts, photographs, and scrapbooks in the Blair-Caldwell Archives. These collections include original works by notable Americans and artifacts from the Civil War that helped shape the Western region, along with biographies and chronicles. Additionally, the collections feature original illustrations of American civilizations that have been passed down through generations.

England was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, which temporarily ruled Europe from 1860 to 1914, exceeding all other global powers except the United States government. Following the conclusion of World War II, however, this competitive edge began to erode. The Gilded Age is the term used to describe the tumultuous years between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the 20th century. Mark Twain's famous satirical novel "The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today" inspired the title of this period. During these years, America experienced remarkable technological and industrial advancements that led to significant wealth. However, the Gilded Age also revealed a darker reality: it was marked by greedy and corrupt politicians, bankers, and merchants who accumulated unprecedented riches and luxury at the expense of the working class. Often overlooked by the public, the wealthy tycoons wielded the most political power throughout the Gilded Age rather than politicians. How do topics like the New South, nation-building, state-building, and development, which are commonly used to define the economic reconstruction taking place across four different regions, relate to the discussions on the blog? Various groups describe this process as post-conflict peacebuilding, early recovery, and post-conflict reconstruction. During the early stages of the Civil War, the free states traditionally supported the Northern objective of preserving the integrity of the Union. Throughout the conflict, Abraham Lincoln's government recognized that achieving military success primarily depended on liberating those who suffered oppression. Consequently, individual members of the Republican Party chose to make freedom their second war objective. Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens, two of the more radical members of the party, believed that emancipation would be ineffective unless the government guaranteed the civil and political rights of individuals seeking equality. The main aim of the ruling group during the Reconstruction period was to ensure that all citizens were treated fairly. This, in turn, sparked intense debates about the importance of order and the most effective ways to achieve these goals.

The latter half of the 19th century marked significant changes in various industries, including transportation, communication, finance, and manufacturing. Executives played a crucial role in transforming small local enterprises into national competitors during the Panic of 1873, contributing to economic interconnection and demonstrating the North's ability to manage the impending crisis effectively. Conversely, might this policy have succeeded for the South, which struggled to sustain itself? Several factors, such as technological advancements, John Pierpont Morgan's "Modernization," Andrew Carnegie's billion-dollar company, and the New South promoted by innovative journalist and Atlanta Constitution owner Henry Grady, contributed to job creation and investment. Economic activity led to significant improvements in the global financial system. In Georgia, African American farmers received support from Tom Watson, a contentious leader of the Populist Party. Watson's assistance was crucial for these farmers. In 1890, he secured a position in Congress, representing the Democratic Party. Following his election to the United States House of Representatives, Watson experienced a shift in his political perspective and was elected to serve as Georgia's representative for two years. Farmers and large businesses significantly influenced the history of the House of Representatives through my support of the Rural Free Delivery (RFD) Act, which recalls past economic successes in the southern region. This act is aimed at providing rural residents with access to free delivery packages. Furthermore, I will continue to advocate for legislation addressing inequality for all men and women worldwide. This act required the United States Postal Service to establish a system for free mail delivery to families in rural areas, eliminating the need for them to travel to distant post offices to collect their mail. Additionally, Warren County was home to one of the first emergency fire department routes established in Georgia. Warren County developed this route. Moreover, implementing rural free delivery led to infrastructure improvements, making it easier to send mail to rural areas more efficiently, including building roads and bridges. Henry Grady predicted that the "New South" economy would transition after the war, shifting from reliance on slave labor to an economy centered on cash crops. However, industrialization delays hindered railway infrastructure development and restricted economic activity. Grady critiqued the plantation system and emphasized the uniqueness of the South's industrial growth in the years following the Civil War. Both of these points relate to the South's industrial evolution. Considering that the New South's industrial growth narrative highlights the settlers' victimhood and active engagement, it is vital. Federal government-operated trains, incorporation regulations, funding, government contracts, and military involvement played significant roles in the sector's development throughout the New South.

Reference

Green-back. “Green-Back to His Country Friends”. New York: [publisher not identified], 1862.

Henry, Carey, Charles. “The North and the South:” Reprinted from the New York Tribune. New York: Office of the Tribune, 1854.

Letter from Bill Woolfolk to Thomas E. Watson, 7 December 1921. The Thomas E. Watson Papers #755, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Nash, Steven E. “The Beginning of a “New” Mountain South. Reconstruction’s Ragged Edge: The Politics of Postwar Life in the Southern Mountains.” Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2016. https://doi.org/10.5149/northcarolina/9781469626246.003.0007.