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Published byCorey Anthony Modified over 8 years ago
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The Growth of Cotton in South Carolina
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Growing Cotton In the United States, there are 17 cotton growing states and South Carolina is one of them. All of these states form a region called the Cotton Belt.
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The cotton belt is a stretch of land where cotton is grown.
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Cotton can grow well in South Carolina because it needs at least 120 frost free days and plenty of sunshine, rain and heat.
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“The Institution of Slavery” The institution of slavery and the plantation system were originally established by the early English settlers who brought the institution with them from Barbados. Slavery was also supported by the Elite class of South Carolina to help support their lifestyle, which includes their economic situation and social and political position. Slave labor was used to grow rice, indigo, and cotton.
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After the Revolutionary War, Northern states passed laws that would gradually free their slaves; however, the plantation owning Elite in South Carolina did not support such laws.
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The Cotton Gin The institution of slavery became stronger as a result of the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793. The cotton gin was a machine that was good at separating seeds from cotton-especially the type of cotton grown in the Upcountry. Before the cotton gin, a slave could only clean about 6 pounds of cotton per week (about 1 pound per day). With the cotton gin, a slave could clean 50 pounds per day.
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The new cotton gin increased slavery in South Carolina. Once cotton was easier to clean, Upcountry planters started more cotton plantations. Many slaves were moved to the Upcountry to work in the fields. The number of slaves coming into our state also increased. It took many more slaves to grow and harvest all cotton.
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“Cotton is King” Almost overnight, cotton became an important cash crop. Cash crops are crops that are grown to be sold. Planters became very dependent on slave labor and were paid a lot of money for their crops. The production of cotton caused South Carolina to become a wealthy state. People said that cotton was king.
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