In 1900 Galveston was an up and coming city while New Orleans was in the midst of a slow decline in importance. Galveston had not built sea walls and other defenses against hurricanes, but New Orleans had not yet started to drain the bayous around the city in order to expand below sea level. How would the history of the two cities differ if they had traded fates in 1900, with New Orleans being hit by the Hurricane of 1900? Would Galveston have been better able to compete against Houston as a port?