The Early Southern Economy & The Growth of Cotton

Topic I: “The South’s Agricultural Economy” 1. Southern Farmers originally grew: _________, _________ ____________. 2. After the Revolutionary War the price of these crops ______________________. 3. When crop prices began to fall many southerners switched to crops like ___________, that required less _____________. 4. When the demand for farm labor decreased, the _________ of slaves began to ___________________. 5. Northern States gradually began to _____________ ______________. 6. Before the Industrial Revolution slavery was in ___________________________________________ Tobacco RiceIndigo Declined or Went Down Wheat Labor or Workers Value Decrease or go down Outlaw Slavery Declining or getting less important it was Dying!

Topic II: “Whitney and the Cotton Gin” 1. Southerner’s viewed cotton as a _________ ___________. 2. _________ __________ cotton grew well in the south, but removing its ________ was hard work and was _________ consuming. 5. Before the Cotton Gin a worker could clean __________ pound a day. Cash Crop Short Staple Seeds Time One

3. In 17___ Eli Whitney invents the _________. 4. The Cotton Gin made the task of separating seeds _______. This invention also __________ the demand for slaves. 93 Cotton Gin Easy Increased

3. Before the Cotton Gin a worker could clean __________ pound a day, and after they could clean __________ pounds a day. Why did this Increase the Demand for Slaves if Cleaning became Easier? Fifty One

Topic III: “The Cotton Boom” 1. To grow Short-Staple cotton a farmer only needed _______and _________. 2. By 18__ the South was producing _____ ______ of all U.S. cotton. 3. Cotton represented more than ________ of all American ____________. 4. The “Cotton Boom” ____________ the dependence on _________ labor. 5. The land from South Carolina to ___________ was called the _______ _________ because it grew the largest amount of cotton in the U.S. 6. Cotton was better than wheat and other crops because it was __________to grow and market. Unlike food crops it could be ___________ for long periods of time, and was _____________ to transport. 7. A negative effect of the Cotton Boom is that farmers became too _____________ on only one crop. land labor 60 two thirds half exports increased slave Texas cotton belt easier cheaperstored/kept reliant/focused