The Growth of the Cotton Industry and Southern Society The invention of the cotton gin made the south a one-crop economy and increased the need for slave labor causing southern society to be centered around agriculture.

Key Terms and key people Key Terms Cotton Gin Cotton Belt Factors Key People Planters Yeomen

That’s a BOLD move cotton As cotton became more valuable, Long Staple Cotton and Short Staple cotton become the most popular cotton variants Short Staple Cotton Was Hard to Remove Seeds from so a better way to remove the seeds was needed Eli Whitney would invent a Cotton Gin that would revolutionize the cotton industry making it easier to manufacture finished cotton Planters would build the Cotton Gins and see great profit and success on their plantations

Cotton Eyed joe As cotton became more valuable platers abandoned other crops for cotton leading to the cotton belt Cotton Production increased from 2 MILLION pounds a year in 1791 to 1 billion pounds of cotton a year in 1860 Cotton increased the amount of wealthy farmers who grew cotton but also solidified the slave culture in the South Cotton farming was very destructive to the land so new growing techniques and cotton variants to improve the crops and profits

Peter Cotton Tail Cotton increased the need for slaves in the south leading to an increase in slave trade, which was banned in 1808 Cotton Became the new economy of the south and would be traded with Europe and the north to supply the textile industry Cotton factors would handle the economic aspect of the cotton trade and controlled the entire crop from growing to trading The Cotton Industry would also lead to an increase in steamboat trade and travel on the rivers and across the ocean to Europe

Planters…buT not peanuts! Even though only (1/3) of the south owned a slave, The growth of cotton led some planters to be EXTREMELY wealthy Male Planters oversaw the Plantation economy and work while planter wives ran the households and raised the families Planter wives would over see the slave women that worked in the houses and would also plan the social events of the plantation Women, however, often were forced into arranged marriages that would benefit the wealthy families, a practice that most southern women disliked

The Haves and the Have Nots Most White Southerners were small farmers that rarely owned slaves Yeomen families included men, women, and children that long days at various tasks to survive The rest of the southern population included poor white southerners with small farms who hunted, fished, or had side jobs to survive Religion became a central part in the life of a southerner and would be used to justify the institution of slavery There was also LIMITED industry, most being textiles, and slaves could be loaned to the factories to work

Free But not really Free There were about 250,00 Free African Americans in the South who were decendents of free Africans, escaped slavery or had bought their freedom Free African Americans worked as paid laborers on farms or at various jobs in the cities Though Free, most African Americans faced discrimination in the south and had laws passed to limit their true freedom To many in the south, the existence of Free African Americans was seen as a threat that could eventually end slavery

This has been another World famous Mr. green PowerPoint Presentation The theme for the rest of the year is as follows: Slavery is the Worst thing that has ever taken place in American history