History of Wilmington Economy Term Paper

Economic Performance of Wilmington, North Carolina in the Last Century

This paper sheds light on economic performance of Wilmington in the last century. After the Civil war, the city faced rapid changes in its economic structure and thus Wilmington could no longer depend on its sea trade or cotton plantations. Even though the two Great Wars had a positive IMAX on the economy, but the effects couldn't last for long. Today the city is heavily dependent on its tourism and entertainment industries while rice and cotton are also important to Wilmington's economic growth.

WILMINGTON ECONOMY

Wilmington has historical significance and the city gained prominence during the Civil War due to its strategic location. The economy of this city has never performed increasingly well nor did it suffer serious blows of recession. This is because the city's economy was largely dependent on its harbor and sea trade and this was for many years the most important source of income for this part of North Carolina. With the beginning of the 19th century, America was undergoing massive industrial revolution and this temporarily helped the city's economy. But with two world wars and declining importance of sea trade, the economy suffered and the city lost its previous position.But more than anything the city suffered from victory of the North during the civil war, this is because when Union Army entered the city of Wilmington, they set every slave free. While this was an amazing step as far as civil rights are concerned, it certainly proved detrimental to the economy of this particular area. Those who were previously working on plantations had to be provided with adequate education and jobs. This had a negative impact on the resources and thus during the early part of the 19th century, the city did not see any improvement in its economic conditions. But with the onset of the two Great wars, its economy improved significantly because of increased war spending. Because the government had invested heavily in defense equipment, it helped in improving economic situation in Wilmington.

One web site discusses the impact of two wars on the economy of Wilmington in these words, "World War II brought dramatic change to the entire Cape Fear area. Offshore, ships were being torpedoed by German submarines, while onshore, the area was….....