The Cotton Kingdom in the South Mr. Davis

Background In 1827, an Englishman, Basil Hall went down to the South on a river boat and noticed that the Southerners only cared about one thing, cotton. Cotton became even more important to the South in the years after Hall’s visit. Cotton plantations, however, were the main reason that slavery existed in the South-it shaped the way of life for the South.

Cotton Gin, Cotton Boom: Because of the industrial boom in the North and England with textile mills, the South needed to produce more cotton than ever before.

The South was able to produce large amounts of cotton. The problem was that they needed to separate the seed from the cotton by hand and it became a very slow process. Planters needed a better way to clean and separate the cotton.

Eli Whitney: In 1793 Eli Whitney travelled to Georgia to become a tutor on a plantation. When he got there he saw that something needed to be created to help the Southern economy.

In only ten days, Whitney came up with his model. Whitney created the very first cotton gin that would separate cotton from the seed. The cotton gin was simple, but its effects were enormous. A worker using a gin could do the work of 50 people!

Cotton Kingdom and Slavery: In 1792 planters were growing only 6,000 bales of cotton in a year. By 1850, the figure had changed to over 2 million bales Because the soil would go bad after about a year of planting, many plantations needed more land and expanded.

In the 1850’s there were plantations extending in a wide band from South Carolina through to Texas, it became known as the Cotton Kingdom.

Even though cotton could now be cleaned by machine, it still had to be planted and picked. The work of slaves brought profits to planters, planters would use the profits to purchase more land and even more slaves.

An Agricultural Economy: Cotton was the South’s most profitable cash crop. The best conditions for growing cotton were in the southern part of the South. In other areas of the South, rice, sugar cane, and tobacco were other major crops.

Rice= South Carolina and Georgia Sugar= Louisiana and Texas Tobacco= Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky

Tobacco was usually planted on about five to six acres Growing rice and sugar cane required expensive irrigation and drain systems. It also required expensive machinery Tobacco was usually planted on about five to six acres

Limited Industry: Many southerners wanted to expand the industry within the South. Cotton mills in South Carolina were being created and trying to produce many exports

Even though the South was trying to create a huge industry, the North was further ahead of the South. The demand for goods was not as great as it was in the North.

Economically Dependent: With little industry of its own, the South came to be more dependent on the North more and more. Many times the South would borrow money from the North to get other goods from Europe. As long as cotton remained king, southerners believed they would have a brighter future.