Henry Grady goes down in Georgia's hall of fame as one of their greatest and most influential journalists and orators. After graduation from the University of Georgia, he went on to his career as general editor and part-owner of the successful newspaper, the Atlanta Constitution1. Grady used the Atlanta Constitution as a foundation to convey his political messages. He was a firm Democrat and joined a group of other strong-willed Democrats that he eventually led called the Atlanta Ring2. Grady was effective in endorsing their political views through The Constitution, demonstrated by the fact that he was able to get his like-minded fellow Ring members Joseph E. Brown elected to the Senate in 1880, and John B. Gordon elected to Governor in 18863. After Grady's influence in politics and public opinion had been established, he moved his focus to public speaking to further channel his agenda.
Grady was a well-spoken, quick-witted and extremely skilled public speaker. He used this proficiency as another platform to express his political messages. His most notable speeches were about "The New South", an idea that Grady gave his full support and used as the backbone for his speeches. This was a clever tactic because the concept of a "New South" was one that appealed to everybody, North or South, Black or White, Republican or Democrat, could get on board with improvements in the South. Especially because it meant something slightly different to everybody that heard it. Grady was invited to speak of this "New South" in front of a meeting of The New England Society which he delivered on December 21st, 1886 to many Northern politicians and leaders such as The President of the United States, Grover Cleveland, and Union war generals4. Henry Grady's "The New South" speech was one of shared optimism and opportunism.
The New South is an optimist idea at its core simply because of its ambitious vision and goals set at working towards a better region.