The Selling of South: The Southern Crusade for Industrial Development, 1936-1990

by James C. Cobb

From the Great Depression to the Sunbelt Era the South has pursued industrial development as the remedy for its economic ills. The mixed results of  this ongoing crusade are chronicled in this path-breaking study, updated to 1990, in which James Cobb examines the expectations, achievements, and side effects of the dive for southern industrialization.
 

Genres: History, Nonfiction

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

James C. Cobb is Spalding distinguished professor of history emeritus at the University of Georgia.

Reviews

[Jim Gulley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cobb argues that the South’s pursuit of economic development through aggressive recruitment and low-cost labor revitalized its economy but entrenched structural weaknesses. Growth came at the expense of perpetuating inequality, stiff arming labor unions, and reliance on outside capital. He traces the region’s industrial recruitment strategy from its beginnings during the New Deal, its heyday after the Civil Rights movement, and through the late twentieth century. The South leveraged low-cost, non-unionized labor, together with an abundance of natural resources, good climate, and a favorable tax and regulatory environment to woo businesses.