Atlanta is the only metro area in the deep south (what I define as Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina, plus the Florida Panhandle and West Tennessee since let's face it Memphis would fit better in Mississippi than in Tennessee) with a population in the multimillions and consistent high population growth. This is for a bunch of historical and logistical reasons, and it makes sense that Atlanta would be prominent, but it didn't have to be the only big dog in town surely. Which other cities in this region might have had the same potential if things had gone the other way?
AHC: Wank a city in the deep south other than Atlanta
- Thread starter odieluck
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Could the music industry possibly concentrate in Columbia instead of Nashville?
I guess St. Tammany Parish could grow a lot but otherwise they’d need some sort of land reclamation and greater flood control program. What else do you think stopped it from growing?
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TheSpectacledCloth
Gone Fishin'
Well, it's already the largest city by area in the mainland US. Perhaps it gets developed even more during WWII. The city was founded when Andrew Jackson was military governor of Florida and the city's history goes all the way back to the 1500s, but discussing that is meant for the pre-1900s discussion board.
Possibly Mobile. It’s at the intersection of two interstates and has a port. A big barrier against development would be the hurricanes, but that hasn’t stopped millions of people from living in other target areas. Perhaps if the port was given a large enough expansion earlier in the twentieth century it would have attracted some industry and eventually become a destination for people who otherwise would have left the south over the years.
This feels mighty hard but I'll try.
A second American Civil War breaks out on the late 60s early 70s after Nelson Rockefeller is elected President in 1968...the only major city left standing in the south is Tupelo.
A second American Civil War breaks out on the late 60s early 70s after Nelson Rockefeller is elected President in 1968...the only major city left standing in the south is Tupelo.
Mobile sounds quite interesting. If it grew enough the suburbs in Baldwin county could merge with Pensacola. It’s a wonder how just directing spending in different places during WWII affects migration patterns. Did FDR ever consider a southern industrialization strategy or anything like that?
IIRC it was decimated in the Civil War (since it was a hugely prosperous city at that point) and it was poorly ran in the aftermath, never enjoying much power on the state level. So it would need a total renovation by that point.
The various geographic and transportation factors which make Birmingham, AL a favorite of Confederate victory and other assorted pre-1900 different!South timelines are still there and still viable to turn it into a world-class manufacturing hub. The butterflies necessary, however, tend to be significant and the wider historical context changes tend to end up swallowing the initial goal of turning Birmingham into the Pittsburgh of the second-half of the 20th Century.
To spitball a bit, imagine butterflies that push forward the grand nuclear responses to the Oil Crisis to be enacted, which puts the U.S. in the business of adding 300GWe of light water reactor generating capacity within a decade (or so). The pressure vessels for those reactors will have to come from somewhere and the existing manufacturing pipeline will need to be expanded. And Birmingham, with its excellent local steel-making potential and status as the other great rail hub of the South, is an excellent candidate for building out that capacity. Which will benefit from the various factors which have driven heavy investment in manufacturing in the South for the past four decades. It also offers a wonderful narrative -- for those who might be interested in it -- in which a backwater and heavily black Southern city shakes off the shackles of Jim Crow and is transformed into a shining bastion of smart, modern manufacturing for the benefit of all.
A Birmingham which functions as a bigger Huntsville, with the nuclear industry filling the role of Redstone/MSFC, might not precisely qualify as a "wank" as the OP intended it, but it still is an interesting aesthetic and might be worth a TLIAW one of these days.
To spitball a bit, imagine butterflies that push forward the grand nuclear responses to the Oil Crisis to be enacted, which puts the U.S. in the business of adding 300GWe of light water reactor generating capacity within a decade (or so). The pressure vessels for those reactors will have to come from somewhere and the existing manufacturing pipeline will need to be expanded. And Birmingham, with its excellent local steel-making potential and status as the other great rail hub of the South, is an excellent candidate for building out that capacity. Which will benefit from the various factors which have driven heavy investment in manufacturing in the South for the past four decades. It also offers a wonderful narrative -- for those who might be interested in it -- in which a backwater and heavily black Southern city shakes off the shackles of Jim Crow and is transformed into a shining bastion of smart, modern manufacturing for the benefit of all.
A Birmingham which functions as a bigger Huntsville, with the nuclear industry filling the role of Redstone/MSFC, might not precisely qualify as a "wank" as the OP intended it, but it still is an interesting aesthetic and might be worth a TLIAW one of these days.
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If it already had a solid industrial base by the time the war started it definitely would have been given a major boost.
Well between being state capitol and the near by military base its already got lots of government jobs, so something private sector-y is needed. IIUC Columbia largely desegregated on its own prior to the Civil Rights Act passing, so it becoming a hippy island in the deep south seems plausible-ish.
How about if you kept some capitals at the expense of other cities? If Houston was kept the capital of Texas, the metro area would likely be the size of Chicago. Charleston could easily be double the size it is now if Columbia wasn't designated the state capital, Knoxville could have taken much of Nashville's place (although Nashville is very strategically located).
What about Huntsville, Alabama? It was Alabama’s first state capital and today it’s a major center for sectors in the field of science, technology, engineering, and math. If it reverted back to being Alabama’s capital for some reason (after 1900 since this is in the post-1900 section) then it’s possible that increased government and political clout combined with the growing STEM-related sectors could allow it to thrive even more and becoming the dominating metro area in the state. As of the 2020 Census, Huntsville overtook Birmingham as the most populated city in Alabama IOTL so it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch.
I always forget about Huntsville. It has impressive growth figures compared to the rest of the state. (Yes the fairhope daphne area is growing a lot but that’s at the direct expense of Mobile and they really should count as the same msa) I’m very predisposed to either Birmingham or Huntsville, the whole Appalachian northern part of the state is breathtaking. Perhaps you choose one of the two sites, combine the industries from both, make it the state capital, and maybe put the University of Alabama there instead of Tuscaloosa and make it known for more than football and you might have some real potential.
Although it would be a pre-1900, New Orleans. In the <VERY unliklely> event of a confederate semi victory, where the USA holds Louisiana, an outpost in hostile territory will get plenty of development, and tariffs will come in from Mississippi traffic getting transshipped--hard not to use the Mississippi unless the north closes the port.
Another option is a more destructive southern rebellion, or even a pair of them, that leaves a lot of the cities planted with salt, figuratively speaking, and whatever city survives in acceptable shape has a big leg up on the others.
Another option is a more destructive southern rebellion, or even a pair of them, that leaves a lot of the cities planted with salt, figuratively speaking, and whatever city survives in acceptable shape has a big leg up on the others.
No, because the general area between Appalachia and the Delta was the center of a wide variety of music--blues, bluegrass, gospel, hillbilly music (early country ), etc. and Nashville was in the middle of that. Not really South Carolina.
So for that , the option for "Deep South" is going to be limited to an area from Memphis to Rome (Georgia). So probably Memphis would be your best bet which requires the city not be run into the ground by its incredibly corrupt administration. As an outside option, Florence, Alabama? It might take a pre-1900 POD though.