Early in the twentieth century New Orleans business and political leaders discussed ways to remedy their city's economic backwardness, to transform it into a developed capitalist city. Central to their plans was expansion of trade with Latin America. They set out to build a hemispheric north-south commercial system in which New Orleans would serve as the midwife for increased trade between the Mississippi Valley and Latin America. They expected such trade to stimulate development. Manufacturing, for example, would grow as imports of Latin American commodities were processed in local factories. By becoming the nation's Gateway to the Americas, New Orleans would break free from underdevelopment Fighting for this plan was the city's international program, an informal alliance of business associations and government agencies. Taking advantage of New Orleans's geographic position and of a favorable hemispheric economic structure, the international program was successful. While its promotional efforts thrust the city forward as the hemispheric gateway, local capital was increasing its trade and business with Latin America. By 1950 the international program's strategic design seemed within reach But in the early 1960s the international program fell apart and local capital's involvement with Latin America declined. Failure resulted from external pressures and from internal shortcomings. The hemispheric political economy no longer favored the Crescent City. Latin American governments, influenced by nationalism, increasingly required their own raw materials to be processed at home; this policy undercut New Orleans's hopes for its own industrialization. At the same time, U.S. conglomerates or multinationals weakened or purchased local firms with Latin American interests. Any adjustment the city might have made to these threatening circumstances was hampered by divisions and factionalism within the international program By 1970 the old strategic orientation toward Latin America no longer unified and inspired the city's elite. 'Gateway to the Americas' was still heard occasionally as a promotional slogan. But it was a slogan without substance. It was no longer the expression of hemispheric economic tendencies and of local capital / acase@tulane.edu
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TULANE/oai:http://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/:tulane_26827 |
| Date | January 1987 |
| Contributors | Carpenter, Arthur Eldred (Author), Woodward, Ralph Lee, Jr (Thesis advisor) |
| Publisher | Tulane University |
| Source Sets | Tulane University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Access requires a license to the Dissertations and Theses (ProQuest) database., Copyright is in accordance with U.S. Copyright law |
Page generated in 0.0017 seconds