Who was Henry Grady?
Henry Grady was a journalist and speaker from Georgia who encouraged the industrialization of the South after the Civil War and Reconstruction. Grady is most well-known for coining the term “The New South” and was known as the “Spokesman of the New South.” Despite his passion for modernizing the region, Grady also believed the “…white race must dominate forever in the South…” because it was a “…superior race…”
Early Life and Education
- Henry Woodfin Grady was born on May 24, 1850, in Athens, Georgia.
- His father, William S. Grady, a successful merchant, fought in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and died from wounds he suffered during the Siege of Petersburg (1864–1865).
- Grady’s mother was Anne Gartrell Grady.
- He graduated from the University of Georgia and studied briefly at the University of Virginia before starting a career in journalism (1869).
Newspaper Career
- Grady started his career writing for the Rome Courier and then joined the Atlanta Daily Herald, where he was a part-owner.
- On March 14, 1874, Grady published the editorial “The New South,” advocating for industrial growth in the post-Civil War South.
- Impressed by his writing, the Atlanta Constitution made him part-owner and managing editor.