Regenerating Dixie: Electric Energy and the Making of the Modern South
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Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University History Dissertations Department of History 8-12-2016 Regenerating Dixie: Electric Energy and the Making of the Modern South Casey P. Cater Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_diss Recommended Citation Cater, Casey P., "Regenerating Dixie: Electric Energy and the Making of the Modern South." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2016. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_diss/52 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of History at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. REGENERATING DIXIE: ELECTRIC ENERGY AND THE MAKING OF THE MODERN SOUTH by CASEY P. CATER Under the Direction of Michelle Brattain, PhD and Joe Perry, PhD 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. INDEX WORDS: Electricity, Hydroelectricity, US South, Georgia, Atlanta, Rural Electrification, New South, Georgia Power Company, Alabama Power Company, Southern Company, Morgan Falls, Tallulah Falls, Georgia Electric Membership Corporation, Clarks Hill, Coal, Plant Robert W. Scherer, Nuclear Power, Plant Alvin W. Vogtle, Energy transitions, Energy history, Environmental history, Business history REGENERATING DIXIE: ELECTRIC ENERGY AND THE MAKING OF THE MODERN SOUTH by CASEY P. CATER A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2016 Copyright by Casey Patrick Cater 2016 REGENERATING DIXIE: ELECTRIC ENERGY AND THE MAKING OF THE MODERN SOUTH by CASEY P. CATER Committee Chairs: Michelle Brattain Joe Perry Committee: Charles Steffen Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University August 2016 iv DEDICATION For Ewa, Krzysiu, and Zosia v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As several historians have pointed out, a study of electrification is in many ways an investigation of things that have been obscured. The links between daily life and dams, coal mines, coal trains, power lines, substations, distribution systems, financial vehicles, corporate dealings, congressional hearings, and so on, and so on are mostly hidden from view. But they are indispensible to the lives (most) people are able to lead in the modern United States. My attempt to uncover these connections in the US South has taken lots of time and effort, and I would never have been able to complete this project if weren’t for the people nearest and dearest to me—the people who are most often the collective unseen force underwriting this type of work. So I want to flip the usual acknowledgment script and thank them first. Ewa has supported and sustained me, in more ways than I can count, every single step of the way. She encouraged me to go to graduate school, refused to let me quit, prodded me to finish, played zone defense against the kids when I was away for research and conferences, and did so much more. Words are truly inadequate to express my gratitude and love for her. Mentioning the children, Krzysztof and Zofia: they did very little to help see this study to completion. In fact, their unceasing tomfoolery, endless energy, and amazingly boundless curiosity kept me (mostly pleasantly) distracted far too often. But still, I’m grateful and indebted to them anyway. I did all of this for them, and it’s to them and Ewa that I dedicate my work. Kocham was bardzo. My parents, Mike and Cheryl, have been wellsprings of support too. They have fed us, taken care of the kids, and offered me plenty of encouragement and praise. What is more, their lifelong example of charity, generosity, and perseverance constantly inspires me to be a better, more open human being. Thanks, Mom and Dad! My brothers Brent, Josh, Steven, and my sister, Michelle, deserve lots of thanks as well. Though I have never felt anything but love and support vi from them, their not infrequent good-natured jabs at my chosen path—to say nothing of the occasional basketball game, round of golf, birthday party, or brewery visit—have helped me stay grounded. At the risk of going completely off the rails, I also want to thank my in-laws, Ryszard and Maria Urbowicz, for making me feel welcome in Poland (not an easy thing for a foreigner to pull off, for sure) and even allowing me some time to work during our family vacations there. Now on to the usual suspects. While my family acted the emotional infrastructure that allowed finish my dissertation, no one has been more critical to this project’s completion than Joe Perry. It was Joe who suggested that southern electrification might be an interesting subject and it was Joe who urged me to switch from my original topic to a study of electric power development in the South. Joe read every version of everything I wrote and his critical eye, along with his unceasing insistence that I add more cultural history, forced me to hone my thoughts, to improve my prose, and, simply, to do better work. Beyond being a great advisor, Joe has been a steady friend as well as an outstanding sommelier and DJ. Michelle Brattain, too, offered me wonderful advice, feedback (especially concerning labor history), and encouragement, and always came through when I needed her help. Although he graciously agreed to join my dissertation committee quite late in the game, Chuck Steffen, my original teaching mentor, has played a pivotal role in helping me paint a clearer picture of capitalist development and life in the modern South. I have also benefitted greatly from the kindnesses of many other faculty members in the Department of History at Georgia State University. Isa Blumi—now of the University of Stockholm—is a human dynamo, easily the most prolific scholar I have ever known. (He says he’s a prolific scorer too, but I have yet to find a way to coax him on to the basketball court.) Isa has long been an unofficial mentor and generously devoted untold amounts of time reading and vii commenting on my work. He has also been an unfailing source of encouragement. “You’re a true scholar,” he once told me. I’m still trying to live up to that line—and will be for a long time. Glenn Eskew and the late Cliff Kuhn guided me through my master’s level studies and taught me southern history. If I understand anything about the curious and tortured past (to say nothing of the present) of my native land, it’s due to them. I also want to thank Rob Baker, Alex Cummings, Ian Fletcher, Denis Gainty, Larry Grubbs, Hugh Hudson, Richard Laub, John McMillian, Jared Poley, Steve Rapp, J.T. Way, and Larry Youngs for the advice, friendship, and laughs shared in seminars or just in stop-and-chat encounters. I reserve a special shout-out for Christine Skwiot for being there for me so many times. One of the most rewarding things about graduate school is making friends. Far and away my closest friends from my years at Georgia State are Hal Hansen, Jon Schmitt, and Clif Stratton—three of the smartest guys I know (but that’s my problem). Hal is as dependable as they come. He has read nearly every word of this dissertation and has offered many valuable insights on how to improve it. More than that, Hal and his wife Jan have long been very close friends who are always willing to post up at 71 for witty banter, smoked wings, frosty beverages, and time-tested music. Along with Joe Perry and Hal Hansen, Jon is probably more familiar with my work than anyone else and tirelessly agreed—sometimes with very little notice—to pore over everything I wrote. If the study that follows has anything valuable to say, it’s because Jon, in no small measure, has helped make it so. Clif has been an unfailing friend for over ten years, one with whom I can always share a fine beer, make quips (that I don’t have to explain) about Seinfeld, and bellyache about the Braves. Clif’s work as a teacher and a scholar inspire me. He’s set the standard for GSU history PhDs. viii To my other pals from GSU: Joe Bagley, Greg Brooking, Mindy Clegg, Michelle Lacoss, Lauren Moran, Sam Negus, Sara Patenaude, Dylan Ruediger, Alyson Tadjer, Lauren Thompson, and Juan Pablo Valenzuela (or is it Venezuela?): I can’t say how valuable it has been to get to know and learn so much from each of them. Ryan Prechter is a friend I can always count on. Only he knows what this means, but a significant portion of my research would literally have been impossible if he had not been willing to help me out. Friends outside the GSU family have offered me more than just friendship—although that would have been enough.