Atlanta is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, home to more than 6 million people. During the American Civil War, the city was almost entirely burned to the ground in General William T. Sherman’s famous March to the Sea. In the 1950s and 1960s, Atlanta became a major organizing center for the civil rights movement.
About Atlanta in brief
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, home to more than 6 million people. The city is situated among the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and has the highest elevation among major cities east of the Mississippi River. During the American Civil War, the city was almost entirely burned to the ground in General William T. Sherman’s famous March to the Sea. It quickly became a national center of commerce and the unofficial capital of the “New South” The city’s economy is considered diverse, with dominant sectors that include aerospace, transportation, logistics, professional and business services, media operations, medical services, and information technology. It ranks in the top twenty among world cities and 10th in the nation with a gross domestic product of USD 385 billion. Atlanta has topographic features that include rolling hills and dense tree coverage, earning it the nickname of \”the city in a forest\”. It is home to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which is the world’s busiest airport by passenger traffic since 1998. Atlanta is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia. Portions of the city extend eastward into neighboring DeKalb County, and the city is located in the state’s largest county, Gwinnett County. It was originally founded as the terminus of a major state-sponsored railroad, but it soon became the convergence point among multiple railroads, spurring its rapid growth.
In 1836, the Georgia General Assembly voted to build the Western and Atlantic Railroad in order to provide a link between the port of Savannah and the Midwest. The town had six buildings and 30 residents and was renamed Marthasville to honor Governor Wilson Lumpkin’s daughter Martha. Later, J. Edgar Thomson, Chief Engineer of the Georgia Railroad, suggested the town be renamed Atlanta. The residents approved and the town was incorporated as Atlanta on December 29, 1847. By 1860, Atlanta’s population had grown to 9,554. In the 1950s and 1960s, Atlanta became a major organizing center for the civil rights movement, with Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, and many other locals playing major roles in the movement’s leadership. The Atlanta Beltline has altered the city’s demographics, politics, aesthetics, and culture, altering its demographics, culture, and aesthetics. It has been the site of several major battles, culminating with the Battle of Atlanta and a four-month-long siege by the Union Army under the command of General William Tecumseh Sherman in 1864. On November 11, 1864, General John Bell Hood decided to retreat from Atlanta, and he ordered the civilian population to evacuate. On the next day, Mayor James Calhoun surrendered to the Union army and on March 7, 1865, Atlanta was declared the capital of Georgia by the Georgia National Guard. The Battle of the Chattahoochee River was fought between the Union and Confederate armies.
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This page is based on the article Atlanta published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 28, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
