La Salle University La Salle University Digital Commons HON499 projects Honors Program Fall 2016 A City Invincible? The rT ansition of Camden, NJ, From Industrial to Postindustrial City Patrick C. Coulter La Salle University,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/honors_projects Part of the American Studies Commons, and the History Commons Recommended Citation Coulter, Patrick C., "A City Invincible? The rT ansition of Camden, NJ, From Industrial to Postindustrial City" (2016). HON499 projects. 6. http://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/honors_projects/6 This Honors Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Honors Program at La Salle University Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in HON499 projects by an authorized administrator of La Salle University Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. A City Invincible? The Transition of Camden, NJ, From Industrial to Postindustrial City Patrick Coulter Dr. Francis Ryan HON 499: Honors Project 30 November 2016 Coulter 2 Introduction: The inscription on City Hall in Camden, New Jersey reads, “In a dream I saw a city invincible.” These are the words of the poet Walt Whitman, who lived in Camden during the late nineteenth century. His sentiment on the city seems far from the current state of affairs, where the mere mention of Camden in the regional media conjures up images of abandoned buildings and rampant crime. What was at the turn of the twentieth century a thriving industrial powerhouse had become a collection of shelled out factories and a deteriorated quality of life.