New South
Encyclopedia
New South, New South Democracy or New South Creed is a phrase that has been used intermittently since the American Civil War
to describe the American South
, after 1877. The term "New South" is used in contrast to the Old South
of the plantation system of the antebellum period.
The term has been used with different applications in mind. The original use of the term "New South" was an attempt to describe an industrial and less slave reliant South. The industrial revolution of the North greatly influenced the "New South." The antebellum South was largely agrarian and sought to preserve its cultural identity in departing from the Union, which led to the irrepressible conflict. After the war, the South was impoverished and seemed to be in great need of an alternative economy. The New South was no longer to be dependent on banned slave labor or predominantly upon the raising of cotton, but rather industrialized and part of a modern national economy. Henry W. Grady
made this term popular in his articles and speeches as editor of the Atlanta Constitution. Richard H. Edmonds of the Baltimore Manufacturers Record was another staunch advocate of New South industrialization. The Manufacturers Record was one of the most widely read and powerful publications among turn of the twentieth century industrialists. One way of envisioning the New South was the socialist Ruskin Colonies. The historian Paul Gaston coined the specific term "New South Creed" to describe the hollow promises of white elites like Grady that industrialization would bring prosperity to the region.
Northern Influx
The term New South has also been used to describe the growth of the increase of Northern families to the south. At times these communities have been considered unwelcome outsiders. This is especially true in the town of Cary, NC which can stand for Containment Area for Relocated Yankees.
The New South campaign was championed by Southern elites often outside of the old planter class who previously owned slaves, in hopes of forming partnerships with Northern capitalists in order to strengthen the social, political and economic status quo of the South. They in turn expected to situate themselves as equals to northern investors. From Henry Grady to Booker T. Washington
, New South advocates wanted southern economic regeneration, sectional reconciliation, racial harmony and their idea of the gospel of work.
dampened much New South enthusiasm as investment capital dried up and the rest of the nation began to view the South as a large economic failure. World War II
ushered in a degree of economic prosperity as efforts to industrialize in support of the War effort were employed. In the southern mountains, the Tennessee Valley Authority
built dams, and generated employment and electricity that affected numerous residents and manufacturers alike. Other southern industries, such as mining, steel, and ship building flourished during World War II and set the stage for increased industrialization, urban development, and economic prosperity in southern ports and cities in the second half of the 20th century.
The beginnings of the Civil Rights
era in the 1960s led to a revival of the term to describe a South which would no longer be held back by Jim Crow Laws
and other aspects of compulsory legal segregation
. Again, the initially slow pace of the Civil Rights era reforms, notably in the areas of school desegregation
and voting rights
, at first made the "New South" more of a slogan than a description of the South as it was; the Civil Rights Act of 1964
and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 brought an era of far more rapid change.
For many years, this "New South" was more of a slogan of civic boosters than a reality in many areas. Racial conflict during the Civil Rights Movement
gave the south a backward image in popular culture. But in the 1960s the black population was enfranchised and represented in many political offices. In the post World War II era, American textiles makers and other light industry moved en masse to the South, so as to capitalize on low wages, social conservatism
, and anti-union sentiments. With the industrialization of the South came economic change, migration, immigration and population growth. Light industry moved offshore but has been replaced to a degree by auto manufacturing, tourism and energy production. In light of the many changes that have occurred since the Civil War, many now use the term in a celebratory sense
For over 100 years, from before the Civil War until the mid-1960s, the Democratic Party exercised a virtual monopoly on Southern politics (see also Solid South
). Thus elections were actually decided between Democratic factions in primary election
s (often all-white); the Democratic nomination was considered to be tantamount to election
.
The "New South" period is double-edged. After the passage of civil rights legislation, African Americans began to vote in number. They were generally affiliated with the Democratic Party, as presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson had supported their cause, and many had admired Franklin D. Roosevelt. At the same time, in 1964 several Southern politicians, and states, supported Republican
Barry Goldwater
for President
over the Democratic incumbent Lyndon B. Johnson
. In what later became a trend, some switched party affiliations, notably Strom Thurmond
of South Carolina
. Richard Nixon
's Southern strategy
in the 1968 campaign is thought by many to have vastly accelerated this process. From Nixon's time to the present, the South has generally voted Republican at the presidential level.
The term "New South" has also been used to refer to political leaders in the South who embraced progressive ideas on education and economic growth and minimized racial rhetoric, even if not promoting integration. This term was most commonly associated with the wave of Southern governors elected in the late 1960s and 1970s, including Terry Sanford
in North Carolina
, Carl Sanders
and Jimmy Carter
in Georgia
, and Albert Brewer
in Alabama
.
Similarly, the term "New South" was also used to refer to areas of the South that have become more diverse and cosmopolitan over the last several decades.
states, in contrast to the East South Central
and West South Central
states. The former have grown considerably more cosmopolitan and ethnically diverse in recent decades, and many observers maintain that they now comprise a distinct geocultural subregion. One prominent example of the use of "New South" in this context was in the 1991 book The Day America Told The Truth, which divided the South into the front and the back.
The "New South" is also meant to describe the economic boom in the southern part of the U.S., compared to the loss of jobs in the Midwest. U.S.-owned auto manufacturers in cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo
, and St. Louis
have declined while lower wage, non-unionized work forces in the South have attracted foreign manufacturers. For example, two of the largest banks in the USA -- Bank of America
and Wachovia
(now a subsidiary of California's Wells Fargo
) -- are headquartered in Charlotte
; automobile manufacturers BMW
, Toyota, Mercedes
, Honda
, Hyundai
, Kia
, Nissan, and Volkswagen
have opened plants in states such as Georgia
, Alabama
, South Carolina
, Kentucky
, Tennessee
, Texas
, and Mississippi
.
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
to describe the American South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, after 1877. The term "New South" is used in contrast to the Old South
Old South
Geographically, Old South is a subregion of the American South, differentiated from the "Deep South" as being the Southern States represented in the original thirteen American colonies, as well as a way of describing the former lifestyle in the Southern United States. Culturally, the term can be...
of the plantation system of the antebellum period.
The term has been used with different applications in mind. The original use of the term "New South" was an attempt to describe an industrial and less slave reliant South. The industrial revolution of the North greatly influenced the "New South." The antebellum South was largely agrarian and sought to preserve its cultural identity in departing from the Union, which led to the irrepressible conflict. After the war, the South was impoverished and seemed to be in great need of an alternative economy. The New South was no longer to be dependent on banned slave labor or predominantly upon the raising of cotton, but rather industrialized and part of a modern national economy. Henry W. Grady
Henry W. Grady
Henry Woodfin Grady was a journalist and orator who helped reintegrate the states of the former Confederacy into the Union after the American Civil War....
made this term popular in his articles and speeches as editor of the Atlanta Constitution. Richard H. Edmonds of the Baltimore Manufacturers Record was another staunch advocate of New South industrialization. The Manufacturers Record was one of the most widely read and powerful publications among turn of the twentieth century industrialists. One way of envisioning the New South was the socialist Ruskin Colonies. The historian Paul Gaston coined the specific term "New South Creed" to describe the hollow promises of white elites like Grady that industrialization would bring prosperity to the region.
Northern Influx
The term New South has also been used to describe the growth of the increase of Northern families to the south. At times these communities have been considered unwelcome outsiders. This is especially true in the town of Cary, NC which can stand for Containment Area for Relocated Yankees.
The New South campaign was championed by Southern elites often outside of the old planter class who previously owned slaves, in hopes of forming partnerships with Northern capitalists in order to strengthen the social, political and economic status quo of the South. They in turn expected to situate themselves as equals to northern investors. From Henry Grady to Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
, New South advocates wanted southern economic regeneration, sectional reconciliation, racial harmony and their idea of the gospel of work.
White Supremacy
It cannot be overlooked that ideas for the rise of the New South involved the supremacy of whites over blacks. For example, Grady stated in an 1888 speech about the New South: "the supremacy of the white race of the South must be maintained forever, and the domination of the negro race resisted at all points and at all hazards, because the white race is the superior race... [This declaration] shall run forever with the blood that feeds Anglo-Saxon hearts".The Great Depression and World War II
The economic woes of the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
dampened much New South enthusiasm as investment capital dried up and the rest of the nation began to view the South as a large economic failure. World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
ushered in a degree of economic prosperity as efforts to industrialize in support of the War effort were employed. In the southern mountains, the Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
built dams, and generated employment and electricity that affected numerous residents and manufacturers alike. Other southern industries, such as mining, steel, and ship building flourished during World War II and set the stage for increased industrialization, urban development, and economic prosperity in southern ports and cities in the second half of the 20th century.
The beginnings of the Civil Rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
era in the 1960s led to a revival of the term to describe a South which would no longer be held back by Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
and other aspects of compulsory legal segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
. Again, the initially slow pace of the Civil Rights era reforms, notably in the areas of school desegregation
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
and voting rights
Voting rights in the United States
The issue of voting rights in the United States has been contentious throughout the country's history. Eligibility to vote in the U.S. is determined by both Federal and state law. Currently, only citizens can vote in U.S. elections . Who is a citizen is governed on a national basis by Federal law...
, at first made the "New South" more of a slogan than a description of the South as it was; the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 brought an era of far more rapid change.
For many years, this "New South" was more of a slogan of civic boosters than a reality in many areas. Racial conflict during the Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
gave the south a backward image in popular culture. But in the 1960s the black population was enfranchised and represented in many political offices. In the post World War II era, American textiles makers and other light industry moved en masse to the South, so as to capitalize on low wages, social conservatism
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
, and anti-union sentiments. With the industrialization of the South came economic change, migration, immigration and population growth. Light industry moved offshore but has been replaced to a degree by auto manufacturing, tourism and energy production. In light of the many changes that have occurred since the Civil War, many now use the term in a celebratory sense
For over 100 years, from before the Civil War until the mid-1960s, the Democratic Party exercised a virtual monopoly on Southern politics (see also Solid South
Solid South
Solid South is the electoral support of the Southern United States for the Democratic Party candidates for nearly a century from 1877, the end of Reconstruction, to 1964, during the middle of the Civil Rights era....
). Thus elections were actually decided between Democratic factions in primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
s (often all-white); the Democratic nomination was considered to be tantamount to election
Tantamount to election
"Tantamount to election" is a phrase to describe a situation in which one political party so dominates the demographics of a voting district, that the person winning the party nomination for a race will virtually be assured of winning the general election...
.
The "New South" period is double-edged. After the passage of civil rights legislation, African Americans began to vote in number. They were generally affiliated with the Democratic Party, as presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson had supported their cause, and many had admired Franklin D. Roosevelt. At the same time, in 1964 several Southern politicians, and states, supported Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
over the Democratic incumbent Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
. In what later became a trend, some switched party affiliations, notably Strom Thurmond
Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
's Southern strategy
Southern strategy
In American politics, the Southern strategy refers to the Republican Party strategy of winning elections in Southern states by exploiting anti-African American racism and fears of lawlessness among Southern white voters and appealing to fears of growing federal power in social and economic matters...
in the 1968 campaign is thought by many to have vastly accelerated this process. From Nixon's time to the present, the South has generally voted Republican at the presidential level.
The term "New South" has also been used to refer to political leaders in the South who embraced progressive ideas on education and economic growth and minimized racial rhetoric, even if not promoting integration. This term was most commonly associated with the wave of Southern governors elected in the late 1960s and 1970s, including Terry Sanford
Terry Sanford
James Terry Sanford was a United States politician and educator from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford was the 65th Governor of North Carolina , a two-time U.S. Presidential candidate in the 1970s and a U.S. Senator...
in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, Carl Sanders
Carl Sanders
Carl Edward Sanders Sr. is an American politician who served as the 74th Governor of the state of Georgia from 1963 to 1967.Sanders was born in Augusta, Georgia and attended the University of Georgia on a football scholarship...
and Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, and Albert Brewer
Albert Brewer
Albert Preston Brewer is an American politician who was the 47th Governor of Alabama from May 7, 1968 until January 18, 1971.-Life and political career:...
in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
.
Similarly, the term "New South" was also used to refer to areas of the South that have become more diverse and cosmopolitan over the last several decades.
Geography
The term "New South" is used geographically to denote the South AtlanticSouth Atlantic States
The South Atlantic United States form one of the nine Census Bureau Divisions within the United States that are recognized by the United States Census Bureau....
states, in contrast to the East South Central
East South Central States
The East South Central States constitute one of the nine Census Bureau Divisions of the United States.Four states make up the division: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee...
and West South Central
West South Central States
The West South Central States form one of the nine Census Bureau Divisions of the United States that are officially designated by the United States Census Bureau.Four states compose the division: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas...
states. The former have grown considerably more cosmopolitan and ethnically diverse in recent decades, and many observers maintain that they now comprise a distinct geocultural subregion. One prominent example of the use of "New South" in this context was in the 1991 book The Day America Told The Truth, which divided the South into the front and the back.
Economy
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, and St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
have declined while lower wage, non-unionized work forces in the South have attracted foreign manufacturers. For example, two of the largest banks in the USA -- Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
and Wachovia
Wachovia
Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States based on total assets...
(now a subsidiary of California's Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
) -- are headquartered in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...
; automobile manufacturers BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
, Toyota, Mercedes
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
, Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
, Hyundai
Hyundai
Hyundai ) is a global conglomerate company, part of the Korean chaebol, that was founded in South Korea by one of the most famous businessmen in Korean history: Chung Ju-yung...
, Kia
Kia Motors
Kia Motors , headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over 1.4 million vehicles in 2010...
, Nissan, and Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
have opened plants in states such as Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
.
See also
- Deep SouthDeep SouthThe Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
- Border StatesBorder states (Civil War)In the context of the American Civil War, the border states were slave states that did not declare their secession from the United States before April 1861...
- Solid SouthSolid SouthSolid South is the electoral support of the Southern United States for the Democratic Party candidates for nearly a century from 1877, the end of Reconstruction, to 1964, during the middle of the Civil Rights era....
- Sun BeltSun BeltThe Sun Belt or Spanish Belt is a region of the United States generally considered to stretch across the South and Southwest . Another rough boundary of the region is the area south of the 36th parallel, north latitude. It is the largest region which the U.S government does not recognize officially...
Primary sources
- Grady, Henry. The new South (1890), the classic statement online edition