The Land of Cotton Chapter 7, Section 4
“King Cotton” Two types of cotton that were grown Long staple cotton – easy to clean, but very difficult to grow in the south Short staple cotton – easy to grow, but very difficult to clean Eli Whitney solves this problem Creates the Cotton Gin, which makes cleaning cotton much easier and less time consuming Causes cotton production to grow
“King Cotton” Demand for cotton was increasing in America and abroad Textile industry in the north allowed for weaving cotton into cloth Needed more cotton to fuel that industry Britain also needed cotton for its booming textile industry
“King Cotton” Americans start moving south and west to acquire land to grow cotton and profit from the industry Cotton Belt – a nearly uninterrupted band of cotton farms from Virginia to Texas Cotton was Americas largest and most valuable export throughout the 1800s Often called “King Cotton” because it was seen like royalty in the south Allowed for people to get rich quick
The Spread of Slavery Farming cotton was labor intensive 1. Land had to be prepared 2. Cotton seeds had to be planted 3. Plants had to be tended 4. Crop had to be picked 5. Crop had to be cleaned 6. Crop had to be baled
The Spread of Slavery African Americans were used to raise and pick the cotton Free labor from the enslaved people helped to make the planters rich The more people who got rich, the more cotton plantations that popped up The more plantations there were, the more demand for African Americans to work on those plantations The importation of enslaved people was banned by 1808, but many still smuggled them into southern states There was an economic incentive to keep slavery legal in the south
The Spread of Slavery 1810 – 1 million enslaved people in the US 1840 – 2.5 million enslaved people in the US Many southerners were not slave holders Only about ¼ of the population owned slaves Most of those people had less than 20 slaves
Differences between the North and South Economy South: Cotton was King Also grew sugarcane, sugar beets, tobacco, and rice Agricultural region North: Farming was important, but was not how they made a majority of their money Mostly industrial after the Industrial Revolution Manufacturing and trade
Differences between the North and South North Trade and industry encouraged urbanization Led to the growth of cities Focused on new technology, such as advances in transportation and communication Viewed change as progress South Very little technological progress More rural because of agriculture Higher value on tradition and did not really like change
Differences over Slavery South Slavery was legal Viewed as a vital part of the economy Christian religion says its ok North Slavery was illegal Many people viewed slavery as evil
Essential Questions Are technological changes good for society? Why? Use one example of technology from what we learned about yesterday or today and one current example of technology to answer this question (this means in total you need two examples!) Must be one paragraph (5-6 sentences) Make sure you fully answer the question