A New South and A New Georgia

Ch. 14

Standards

• SS8H7 – Evaluate key political, social and economic changes that occurred in Georgia between 1877 and 1918.

• SS8E3 – Evaluate the influence of Georgia’s economic growth and development

Section 1: American Modernization

• In the 1870’s and 1880’s industry grew rapidly in America.

• Large businesses grew• Monopoly – a business that has complete

control of their market. • Workers organized into Labor Unions –

tried to help workers settle disputes, negotiate wages, working hours and conditions

Problems of Industrialization

• Workers were often mistreated.

• Few men became wealthy while many remained poor.

• Laissez-faire – government attitude of non-intervention.

• 1890 Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act – outlawed attempts to create a monopoly

Modernization

• Many new inventions improved life.

• Thomas Edison found a way to provide electricity. Light city streets and business signs.

• Electricity changed transportation: streetcars allowed people to travel around town faster and farther.

Urbanization

• Towns and cities grew rapidly, mainly in the Northeast and Midwest.

• Immigrants came to the U.S. mainly in the big cities: that is where the jobs were.

• Very few settled in the south• Suburbs grew. People wanted to leave the

overcrowding cities and move outside the city limits

Section 2: The New South

• In order to create a “New South”, leaders believed that these changes had to take place: 1) expand its industries 2.) rely less on a few cash crops 3.) grow more food crops

• Northern banks had money to invest in the south and its resources.

Advocates and Critics

• Henry W. Grady was an editor for the Atlanta Constitution. He was a supporter of the “New South.” Favored Industrialization

• Grady believed in using local resources to create industry and promote a New South

• He was able to promote this idea through the newspaper, which reached many people

• John B. Gordon, Joseph Brown and Alfred Colquitt were politicians who supported the new south

Advocates and Critics

• Many people did not want to change. They wanted to keep Georgia rural and dependant on agriculture.

• Lost Cause – belief that the old south would return.

• Many people did not want help from the north.

• Control was the big issue. Would the north control south’s economy?

Southern Business

• Cotton mills opened across the south. Lintheads – people who worked in the mills, lint stuck to their heads and clothes.

• Big mills controlled entire towns. Providing a place to live, stores, churches, etc…

• Tobacco became big in North Carolina and steel industries grew in Alabama

Southern Business

• People hoped that small self-sufficient farms would replace the large plantations.

• Wanted more food crops. This would allow the south to become less dependant on the north.

Things Needed for Growth

• If the South’s economy was to grow, a steady supply of labor and better transportation was needed.

• Railroads were damaged or destroyed during the Civil War. By 1870 10,000 miles of railroad had been built.

• By 1890 40,000 miles were built. • This connected the south with national

markets after the Civil War

Things Needed for Growth

• Labor Unions were not successful in the South, despite low wages and poor working conditions.

• Prisoners were often used for labor. Chain Gangs. Most of these prisoners were African Americans.

• No different from slavery.

Section 3: Urban & Rural Worlds

• About 70% of farmers in Georgia grew mostly cotton. Cotton and tobacco could be sold easily and would bring the most money.

• Peanuts, pecans, watermelons and peaches became very popular food crops in Georgia and began to replace cotton

Georgia Business and Industry

• By 1900, Georgia had 15 large industrial companies.

• Textile Mills were the biggest industry.• Charles Herty invented a new process for

extracting resin from trees, and for using trees to make paper. Created pulpwood industry in Georgia.

• Later, Georgia Pacific became a worldwide supplier of forest products.

Georgia Business and Industry

• Dr. John Pemberton invented Coca Cola in 1885.

• This was an Atlanta based company which sells one of the most recognizable products in the world today.