The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce is the

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...

for the

Atlanta metropolitan area Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and th ...

. It was founded in 1859.

History

The first Atlanta Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1859, and was chiefly concerned with fighting railroad rate discrimination and with sustaining commercial ties with the North. After

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics l ...

, it focused its attention on direct trade with Europe, which was part of an overall Southern goal of achieving economic independence from the North. In 1866 the chamber was reformed into a Board of Trade.Don Harrison Doyle,''New men, new cities, new South'', p.136
/ref> When the economy started to recover after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

, in 1871 the city's business community formed a new Chamber of Commerce which was meant to have a broader base and participation than the Board of Trade. Again, the main issue was the railroads.

Jonathan Norcross Jonathan Norcross (April 18, 1808 – December 18, 1898) was elected in 1850 as the fourth Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, serving the customary term at the time of one year. Dubbed the "Father of Atlanta" and "hard fighter of everything" by publi ...

addressed the members at its first meeting.

Benjamin Crane Benjamin Elliott Crane (December 19, 1835 – January 15, 1885) was a businessman in post-bellum Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Biography Benjamin Crane was born in Athens, Georgia to Ross Crane and Martha White Elliott. He graduated from the ...

, a wholesale grocer, was the chamber's new president. By 1890 the chamber had 600 members from 350 firms. In 1892 an auxiliary social club was started. The following year there was an economic panic, and the chamber was instrumental in encouraging banks to issue scrip in order to get more money into circulation, which allowed Atlanta merchants to sell the cotton crop. During the depression in the 1890s, the chamber took a position front and center as the spokesman for the welfare of the working man and for its business class and succeeded rallied the business community to stage the successful 1895

Cotton States and International Exposition The Cotton States and International Exposition was a world's fair held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States in 1895. The exposition was designed "to foster trade between southern states and South American nations as well as to show the products a ...

, a sort of world's fair. In 1899 the chamber began a Young Men's Business League. In 1903 it launched the Greater Georgia Association which promoted Atlanta and Georgia in western and northern business journals. The chamber also published numerous guides and picture books on Atlanta. In 1904 it pressured the city to establish an Atlanta Freight Bureau, which would suspend all concessions to the railroads until an agreement on freight rates was agreed to that was favorable to businesses. And in 1910 the Chamber successfully campaigned for a $3 million city bond which funded expansion of the water and sewer systems,

Grady Hospital Grady Memorial Hospital, frequently referred to as Grady Hospital or simply Grady, is the public hospital for the city of Atlanta. It is the tenth-largest public hospital in the United States, and one of the busiest Level I trauma centers in ...

, and several new schools.

Other chambers of commerce in Metro Atlanta

List of international chambers of commerce in Atlanta

French American Chamber of Commerce - Atlanta

German American Chamber of Commerce

Latin American Chamber of Commerce

Netherlands American Chamber of Commerce - Southeastern United States
*

Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce The Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce' is Gwinnett County, Georgia's non-profit, member-funded business advocacy organization, representing a number of businesses within Gwinnett and the metro Atlanta Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States ...

References

External links

Official website
* {{Atlanta Chambers of commerce in the United States Organizations based in Atlanta Economy of Atlanta 1860 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)