Cotton: the King of Texas Crops Section 3

Main Idea: The success of cotton production changed the face of Texas.

It created a growth in industry and caused an entire culture to spring up around cotton farming.

The large-scale cultivation of cotton caused many changes in Texas.

Farmers focused on cultivating their commercial cotton crops.

Household items that were normally made at home were now being purchased from stores.

Towns close to commercial cotton farming grew by providing services and products that farmers once performed or created for themselves.

These towns were as dependent on the success of the cotton crop as each commercial farmer was.

Cotton cultivation became essential to Texans’ lifestyles.

Activities such as elections, fairs, and weddings were planned around cotton growing season.

When a harvest was bad because of drought or a pest infestation, farmers and farm serving towns were affected.

During bad years, farmers still had to buy essentials such as seed and farming equipment.

In order to do this, they would make their purchases on credit.

However, buying on credit would often lead farmers into a similar cycle of debt that sharecroppers experienced.

Often, a year’s profit would be used to pay off debt from previous years. In order to buy food, seed and equipment a farmer would have to borrow again.

Although the cotton farmers of Texas brought great wealth to Texas, many never escaped the cycle of poverty.