Date of Award
8-12-2016
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
History
First Advisor
Michelle Brattain
Second Advisor
Joe Perry
Third Advisor
Charles Steffen
Abstract
The emergence and spread of electricity profoundly shaped the “long New South.” This dissertation traces the electrification of the US South from the 1880s to the 1970s. Focusing primarily on the Atlanta-based Georgia Power Company, it emphasizes that electricity’s rise was not simply the result of technological innovation. It was a multifaceted process that deeply influenced, and was influenced by, environmental alterations, political machinations, business practices, and social and cultural matters. Although it hewed to national and global patterns in many respects, southern electrification charted a distinctive and instructive path. Its story speaks to the ways the South’s experiences with electrification shaped larger American models of energy transitions and economic development, but also the ways it wrought dramatic changes in the fabric of everyday life.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/8856462
Recommended Citation
Cater, Casey P., "Regenerating Dixie: Electric Energy and the Making of the Modern South." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2016.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/8856462