Where the practice economic development was invented.
By Michael C. Randle
The “selling of the South” refers to a historical era, often traced from the 1930s to the 1980s, where Southern states aggressively pursued industrial development by marketing their region to Northern CEOs, promising low wages and land, a former agrarian workforce that could fix anything such as a tractor, anti-union environments, tax breaks, and fewer regulations, as detailed by James C. Cobb and many others.
The Campaign: Southern leaders embarked on a long-term “crusade” to end the region’s dependence on low-paying agricultural jobs, particularly cotton planting and harvesting jobs.
The Appeal to the North: Southern states, particularly after the Great Depression, used incentives — never before used — to attract capital and industrial jobs from the North, transforming the Southern economy into a — at times — a contentious, modern industrial “Sunbelt”.
Significance: This shift not only altered the economic landscape of the United States, driving industrialization in the South, but also created significant competition, sometimes causing insecurity in the North.
Key Source: James C. Cobb’s book The Selling of the South: The Southern Crusade for Industrial Development, 1936-1980 provides a comprehensive analysis of this period, examining the motivations, strategies, and consequences of the South’s efforts to lure industry.
While some interpretations of economic development might note modern Southern states, such as Tennessee, Texas, North Carolina or Georgia (all Southern states are very competitive), as major contenders in the global landscape, the historic “selling” primarily refers to this 20th-century, post-Depression industrialization, rather than a single moment, according to James C. Cobb’s analysis.
