ABSTRACT
The story of Atlanta has many backdrops, characters, conflicts, and themes. Atlanta's storied past has lead to imagining a city whose future is brighter and better than we could have ever dreamed. The historic past as a spirited war-torn city that rose from the ashes is a common theme in Atlanta's story. Atlanta has been known as Terminus, Marthasville, the gate city of the region, the city of the "new South", a city too busy to hate, the next great international city, and a city on a hill. Atlanta promoted itself as a good place to invest, to live, and to learn, even in the 1880s and 1890s. Accepting the differences, rallying for a cause, engaging everyone, building unlikely alliances, challenging the status quo-these became part of Atlanta's culture and tradition. When its neighbors and sister cities retreated from self-promotion and closed themselves off to immigrants, Atlanta's leaders welcomed outsiders and rallied to sell the city to the world.
