Cotton In The 1800s

Have you ever wanted to know how and why cotton was such a big deal during a specific time period in American history? During the Antebellum period in the United States, the south grew tobacco, indigo, wheat, and bought slaves but wanted a crop that would really make the farmers wealthy. In the 1800s, the crop cotton was noticed and became a high demand for the whole nation and Britain. There were many causes, effects and impacts that happened because of the rise of King Cotton.

Before the war occurred, the cash crop known as indigo in South Carolina was no longer being sold to England. Indigo farmers had to grow a different crop instead so they would keep their farm and plantation up and they turned to a certain type of cotton known as “Sea

There were two separate systems that were used on slaves in South Carolina. The “task system” was usually applied on rice and Sea Island cotton plantations (123). When the daily tasks were completed for the day, the slaves had independence to do other activities. They also had little to no watch from someone else such as an overseer. In the backcountry, the system they used was much harsher than the one in the lowcountry, called the “gang system”. All the slaves worked from dawn to dusk and there was always an overseer or slave driver. Some slaves were more talented and could become artisans, blacksmiths, carpenters, boatmen and mechanics and sometimes get paid. With they money they earned, they were able to buy their own freedoms and freedoms for others. In the slave community, they sang and played music to make peace and be happier with their lives and taught kids how to avoid being punished. Slaves told each other stories about their lives in Africa and now their new lives. Since the laws did not say anything about slave marriage, they would hold their own weddings. Even though their white preachers at church said the Bible justified slavery, the slaves sang for freedom and added their own African elements (124). Sometimes, the slaves would resist their owners by working slower, faking their illness, destroying land, running away, and organizing rebellions. A slave named Denmark saved enough money he earned from

Cotton became the leading cash crop in the South which required much slave labor. The slaves of the south had to endure great hardships. Plantation owners and people of the entire nation and of Britain were also affected. What do you think the world then would be like if we didn’t have slaves and