expression is said to have been used first by General Adam Badeau when
stationed in South Carolina, but the New South of which he spoke was not
the New South as it is understood today. Many others have used the term
loosely to signify any change in economic or social conditions which
they had discovered. The first man to use the expression in a way which
sent it vibrating through the whole nation was Henry W. Grady, the
gifted editor of the _Atlanta Constitution_. In a speech made in 1886
by invitation of the New England Society of New York City, he took for
his theme "the New South" and delivered an oration which, judged by its
effects, had some of the marks of greatness. "The South," he said, "has
nothing for which to apologize. She believes that the late struggle
between the States was war and not rebellion, revolution and not
conspiracy." He went on, however, to express the feeling that the
outcome had been for the best, and painted a picture of the new spirit
of the South, a trifle enthusiastic perhaps, but still recognizable.

Today a New South may be said to be everywhere apparent. The Old South
still exists in nooks and corners of many States, it is true: there are
communities, counties, groups of counties, which cling to the old ideas.
In the hearts of thousands of men and women the Old South is enshrined,
and there is no room for the new; but the South as a whole is a New
South, marked by a spirit of hopefulness, a belief in the future, and a
desire to take a fuller part in the life of the nation. To trace the
development of the new spirit and to discuss its manifestations is the
purpose of this book.




CHAPTER II