The Rise and Fall of Cotton, Textile Mills, Tourism, and More! 19 th and 20 th Century SC Standard 3-5.3

Cotton is King! (Well, it was before the Civil War) The cotton industry was good and bad in 19 th and 20 th century. During: Customers for SC cotton found new sources After: land owners made the sharecroppers continue to plant cotton. They needed it as a cash crop!

LOTS of farmers depended on cotton for money, so they planted more and more. All of a sudden, there was TOO much cotton! What happened to the price of cotton if there was a surplus of it? THE PRICE WENT DOWN! (no more money for the farmers…boo hoo)

Cotton Farm before Civil War They Planted More And planted even MORE

Growing cotton took a toll on the soil. The more cotton was grown (and there was A LOT of it) the more that the soil lost its nutrients. Then farmers had to plant MORE so that they could get more to grow. This increased the supply even more! What would they do with all that cotton?

Textile Mills continued to be built. What do they need to make the cloth? Cotton, of course! Then the demand was increased. There was a place for all that cotton after all. Then something came and started to destroy the cotton crops. A pesky little creature. What was his name? The Boll Weevil!

That boll weevil invaded the cotton fields and hurt the cotton economy. No more money being made from those cotton farms. Who wants cotton infested with bugs???

World War I (WWI) increased the need for cotton. Demand was up again! Why do you think the demand went up again because of a war? What kind of things would they need cotton for? Soldiers’ uniforms, bags and other cloth materials. Cotton was finally bringing in some money for those poor farmers.

What happened to the demand of cotton once the war ended? The demand ended too. No one REALLY needed cotton quite as badly. Still, farmers had lots of cotton, so the supply was high but the prices fell back down.

Farming wasn’t the only industry that was struggling. What else? Textile mills had hard times in the 1920’s too. They couldn’t get high prices for the products they made. Workers wanted more money for the long hours they worked. (Wouldn’t you?)

What was developed to replace cotton as cloth? Synthetic fibers like polyester and rayon. What happens to the demand for cotton and textile mills when cotton is replaced by a different (better) material? Demand decreased for cotton and cotton textile mills.

A time period called the Great Depression hurt the cotton farmers and the textile mills. The Great Depression was a time of hardship and sadness. The economy was at an all-time low.

World War II began – another hard time. But, it’s a war, and soldiers need supplies. What happened to the demand for cotton and textile mills? Demand increased! Farmers and mill workers went back to work. What kinds of things were they making? Uniforms, supplies, bags, anything cloth.

What happened when WWII ended? Demand fell again! (Are you seeing a pattern yet?) The farmers were tired of the inconsistency of the cotton industry. Sometimes it’s up, sometimes it’s down. They decided to change the crop they were farming. Any ideas of what they turned to instead? Peaches and Tobacco

Other parts of the world were growing cotton and had textile mills too. So, South Carolina wasn’t the only one. Other parts of the world were more successful with this because they paid lower wages in other countries. (Us Americans like to get paid lots of money.) So, many textile mills in SC got closed down. What happened to the demand of cotton with closed textile mills? It DECREASED!

We all know that people still farm in SC today! (Hooray for locally grown foods) Some cotton is still grown in SC also. Not nearly as much. Most farmers today farm crops like tobacco, pine trees and soybeans. These 3 things are now the states most important crops.

Tourism~ What are some reasons people would want to come to Charleston during the 19 th and 20 th century? To visit the historic city of Charleston and the beautiful beaches. Both wonderful in many ways. Tourism was developed by entrepreneurs and the state government so people could enjoy these things.

What kinds of things were built to help the tourism industry? Hotels, restaurants, parks, etc. What are some major tourist cities in SC? Charleston and Myrtle Beach (built as a tourist attraction)

The Battery, Downtown Charleston The “new bridge” Carriages pulled by horses. (You see this a lot.)

Myrtle Beach- The Grand Strand

What advances helped make it possible for these cities to be visited by tourists from other states? Increased number of automobiles, more national highways and state roads Air conditioning also boosted tourism. (It gets really hot on the beach in the summer) Today, tourism is a MAJOR industry in South Carolina. The economy benefits a lot from it.

War had a big impact (in a positive way) on the cotton and other industries. Starting in WWI, ships were built in Charleston at the Navy Yard. Military bases were built to train to soldiers from all over the US. (Like Camp Jackson in Columbia) This continued through WWI and the Cold War.

War needed a lot of supplies. The national government built the Savannah River nuclear plant to make the materials used in bombs during the Cold War. How did this plant help the economy? It provided more jobs

WWII increased world trade. SC governors worked hard to make more industries come to South Carolina to make more jobs for the people. Industries (businesses) did come to SC because the taxes and wages were low. Jobs kept increasing because of more port facilities All these new jobs stimulated the economy and increased demands for goods and services like grocery stores, gas stations and hospitals.

All of these economic changes helped move people into the state of SC. After what we talked about, who do you think was coming to SC? Soldiers training at military bases, tourists, employees (workers), or retired people. All of these different groups are what makes SC such a diverse community.