Atlanta Rebuilt
With the conclusion of the Civil War in 1864, thousands of Atlanta residents returned home to find their city demolished. Bonded by a unique vision for reconstruction, they began to reform their homeland from mounds of ash and rubble. During the decades following the Civil War, Atlanta experienced an extraordinary economic and population boom. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Atlanta grew from a population of approximately twenty-two thousand residents in 1870 to over one hundred and fifty thousand in 1910 (United States Census Bureau). This drastic population growth testifies to the city’s astonishing postwar redevelopment. In addition, the citizens of Atlanta succeeded in rebuilding the city’s railways in an astonishing two years, after which the former railroad network was fully operational. This accomplishment captivated Northerners, who became inspired by the city’s dedication and began investing in its renovation. Along migration from rural regions in the state, this financial backing allowed Atlanta to experience economic prosperity and to become an influential city in the Southeast (Link, 7-57). A photograph of Atlanta, published by Underwood and Underwood Publishers, displays Atlanta’s astonishing transformation. Taken in 1907, this photograph shows Peach Tree Street, located in a thriving business district in Atlanta. The modern rail trolleys and towering skyscrapers reflect the city’s economic prosperity and starkly contrasts with images of the city from the 1860s (Underwood & Underwood). The eager resilience with which the citizens of Atlanta rebuilt their homeland came to represent the city’s fundamental ethos.
Works Cited
Hillyer, Reiko. Designing Dixie: Tourism, Memory, and Urban Space in the New South. University of Virginia Press, 2014.
Link, William A. Atlanta, Cradle of the New South: Race and Remembering in the Civil War's Aftermath, Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 2013.
Underwood & Underwood. Peach Tree St. from the east – a typical business district of a southern metropolis, Atlanta, Ga. New York; London; Toronto-Canada; Ottawa-Kansas; Underwood & Underwood, Publishers, Feb. 6, 1907. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2004676660/>
United States Census Bureau (1910). United States Census of Population and Housing (Thirteenth)[Data File, p. 400]. Retrieved from: https://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html