Clothes, bandages, medical supplies, carpets, blankets, and many other common materials and supplies that we use daily are made from cotton. Hundreds of materials that we wear, sleep on, and walk on daily use cotton. Everyone in the world uses cotton in some way every day. Cotton contains very unique qualities which have made it into an extremely useful crop for hundreds of years all over the world. Cotton stands atop all charts as the most used fiber plant in every country. It held a very influential place in the economic system and influenced many world trade markets. Cotton known by its famous nickname of “King Cotton” in the U.S. was the driving factor behind the widespread and lucrative American slave trade in the Atlantic. Before and …show more content…
after the civil war the southern states foundation of economic prosperity was grounded in cotton. Cotton holds a very crucial place in the history of the world as well as its present and in the future. The time period when civilizations first obtained cotton is not exactly known. Cotton however was used by countries and people on both the east and west side of the world. The oldest archaeological findings date cotton use back to 3000 B.C. in Pakistan. From there cotton quickly spread across entire continents as civilizations realized the value that it possessed. Cotton was a very valuable product in early India and soon after was introduced into Europe starting in Greece. Alexander the Great opened the doors in Greece and the Greeks and Romans used cotton for many of their clothes and sails for their ships. Cotton was used widely in the Old World; however it was not until it made its way to the New World that its production really took off. How cotton managed to travel from the Old World to the New World is not exactly known, however some theories suggest that the cotton fiber made its way to the New World via old trading routes running along the eastern coast of Africa to India. Cotton was able to survive on cargo and trading ships and eventually became prosperous in the New World. Cotton first arrived in the United States in 1621.
Cotton was an extremely labor-intensive crop that requires hours of manual labor to harvest and many more in preparation for spinning. Many Americans looked for ways to improve this process and make it faster, however it was not until the American Industrial Revolution came about that great steps were made in this process. When the American Industrial Revolution hit, it brought about a major change and was arguably one of the greatest factors in the modernization of the United States. Along with this Industrial Revolution came a great invention in the world of cotton which many historians argue sparked the revolution itself. Eli Whitney brought a revolution to cotton production when he invented the cotton gin. This machine quickly separated the cotton seeds from the cotton and allowed it to be processed at rates up to twenty times faster than before. The cotton production in the U.S. and its annual yield had been relatively low before the invention of the cotton gin, but after its introduction annual cotton production soared to all-time highs. Along with the cotton gin, large mills and metal tools vastly enhanced the production of cotton in the 1800’s. The production of cotton was primarily centered on its export to Europe and these new technologies produced a new age of production in New England and created a vast domestic market for southern cotton farmers. This European cotton trade produced a strong market that supported many southern states. Europeans were the primary source in turning this raw cotton into textiles through the African cotton trade. “Europeans also learned that the African trade could be integrated within a wider space of exchange that encompassed the entire Atlantic. This was called ‘triangular trade’ in which raw materials (cotton) were traded from the Americas to Europe, where they served to manufacture and print cotton textiles. These textiles were then in turn sold on international
markets, becoming a key commodity in the trade to Africa” (Riello). One of cottons biggest impacts came on the American slave trade and the booming growth of cotton production is claimed to be one of the large causes that sparked the American Civil War. With the giant boom in the cotton industry the number of slaves in the United States almost tripled totaling roughly 3 million in the mid 1800’s. Congress successfully banned the transatlantic slave trade from Africa in 1808, but this only caused an increase in the need for domestic slaves to work the plantations. This uprooted many African Americans from the border states into the newly founded “cotton belt”. Over half of Americans moving west were black slaves. During this time many southern leaders in Virginia even spoke of possibly putting a stop to the slave trade, however the new technology combined with the demand for domestic slaves breathed life back into the slave trade. Sadly because of this, slavery grew exponentially in the New World and greatly hindered the abolitionists who were seeking to eradicate slavery altogether. Cotton did not only have a great impact in the United States, but also made a great impact globally. Cotton’s rapid climb to a global commodity grew from the cultural change that took place in Europe, especially centered in Britain’s vast trading empire. Many various cotton fabrics became increasingly popular in Europe and by 1700 close to a half million cotton products were being imported into Britain. During the 18th century cotton demand once again took off as many of the middle class citizens had a high demand for easily cleaned and fashionable fabrics. Wool however was still the primary fabric in Europe, but with invention of industrial machines during the Industrial Revolution this paved the way for British cotton producers to compete with other fabrics. The commercial empire of Britain greatly expanded the cotton trade in Europe. Cotton that was produced in Britain made up almost 50% of total exports in the late 18th century. With the rapid expansion of the cotton trade, many producers needed to locate new areas where raw cotton could be harvested. This need for new cotton sources caused a rapid expansion into West India. India had primarily been a large producer of textiles; however British trade restrictions on Indian imports and their power in the East Indian Trading Company allowed them to successfully transform India into a major source for raw cotton. Cotton has been said to be an empire builder, but it also required an empire to control it. The countries that held a monopoly on the cotton industry had a strong economic sway in Europe and through the American and British Industrial Revolutions and the global expansion of the cotton trade, cotton truly became a global good that had great influence in all parts of the world.
Before the American civil war, the Southerner’s economy had almost entirely been constructed on slave and cash crop agriculture. The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney. The cotton gin was a contraption that transmogrified the fabrication of cotton by significantly making the task of removing seeds from the cotton fiber faster. The invention benefitted the slaves because it saved the slaves
Eli Whitney's machine could produce up to 23 kg (50 lb) of cleaned cotton daily, making southern cotton a profitable crop for the first time. Unfortunately Whitney failed to profit from his invention; imitations of his machine appeared, and his 1794 invention was not upheld until 1807.
Jennifer Thompson-Cannino was raped at knife point in her apartment. She was able to escape and identify Ronald Cotton as her attacker. The detective conducting the lineup told Jennifer that she had done great, confirming to her that she had chosen the right suspect. Eleven years later, DNA evidence proved that the man Jennifer Identified, Ronald Cotton was innocent and wrongfully convicted. Instead, Bobby Poole was the real perpetrator. Sadly, there are many other cases of erroneous convictions. Picking cotton is a must read for anybody because it educates readers about shortcomings of eyewitness identification, the police investigative process and the court system.
As the Indians used slash and burn to make room for crops when the Americans came to Alabama they learned this type of agriculture and started growing cotton. This led to several events that dramatically affected Alabama's early agricultural development. The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain created a greedy appetite for cotton fiber, and in 1794 Eli Whitney patented a new type of cotton gin in the United States, which lowered the cost of processing fiber. “By the time Alabama became a state in 1819, the interior of the state was easily accessed via the Tombigbee, Warrior, Alabama, and Chattahoochee rivers. Crops could also be transported to European and New England markets via the ports of Mobile and Apalachicola, Florida. Settlers poured into the new state with one objective to grow cotton. As time passed there was almost four million acres of cotton growing in Alabama” (Mitchell, 2007). As time progressed people thought of a new type of agriculture.
Prior to the cotton gin, a laborer could only pick the seeds out of approximately one pound of cotton a day. The cotton gin made it possible to clean up to 50 pounds per day. The farmers could now plant as much cotton as they wanted and not have the worry about the difficulties of seed removal. Eli’s invention spurred the growth of the cotton industry, and the South took up the slogan “Cotton is King.”
Cotton had first become popular in England mainly because it was cooler and more comfortable than wool, plus it could be dyed in many colors and patterns. However, English manufacturers had to battle the Indian cotton textiles, which were much cheaper. Therefore, the British government enacted protectionist tariff and barriers against Indian cotton that allowed the infant British textile industry to grow and nourish. The United States did the same thing to grow its own textile industry in the northeastern part of the country. The U.S. government enacted tariffs to protect its infant industry against British textile imports, the textile industry sparked the Industrial Revolution in the U.S..
Slavery had a big impact on the market, but most of it was centered on the main slave crop, cotton. Primarily, the south regulated the cotton distribution because it was the main source of income in the south and conditions were nearly perfect for growing it. Cheap slave labor made it that much more profitable and it grew quickly as well. Since the development in textile industry in the north and in Britain, cotton became high in demand all over the world. The south at one point, was responsible for producing “eighty percent of the world’s cotton”. Even though the South had a “labor force of eighty-four percent working, it only produced nine percent of the nations manufactured goods”, (Davidson 246). This statistic shows that the South had an complete advantage in manpower since slavery wasn’t prohibited. In the rural South, it was easy for plantation owners to hire slaves to gather cotton be...
The reason why slavery spread into the cotton kingdom after revolution is because the tobacco income plummeted as white setters from Virginia and Carolinas forcing the original Native Americans inhabitants farther and farther west where they established plantations. The wide spread use of the cotton gin invented by Eli Whitney in 1793, made these cotton plantations more efficient and profitable. Around 1820, slavery was concentrated in tobacco growing areas of Virginia, Kentucky along coastal region of South Carolina and Northern Georgia and in 1860s it spread deep in the South (Alabama, Texas, Louisiana) following the spread of cotton.
The "technological retardist" theories are strongest in considering the erosion of "King Cotton` s" pre eminence, due in part to America` s competition and, the critics suggest, the British cotton manager` s lack of judgement. It is said that the slow adoption of the ring spindle in spinning, and the low uptake of the automatic loom in weaving seriously hampered those industries` competitive edge.
The Industrial Revolutions, spurred by technological innovation and the discoveries of new materials, created new industries. One of the first to be mechanized is the textile industry. From James Hargreaves’ creation of the spinning jenny, workers, mainly women, were able to mass produce goods from home. Thus, the cottage industry was born. However, with the development of Richard Arkwright’s water frame, John Kay’s flying shuttle, and Edmund Cartwright’s power loom, factories soon replaced the domestic system and the women who lost their jobs now moved to the factories. Nevertheless, the factories were very successful due to high demand and cheap cotton sources in the Americas and in India. Ironically, American cotton was the product of slavery, which the British had banned in 1838.
The invention of the cotton gin helped speed up the growth of the United States, of course with the help of Eli Whitney who helped the United States in many other ways. As a result, cotton became the cheapest and most widely used textile fabric in the world.
...th a nearly challenging obstacle. They produced too little cotton to be able to cover the costs of shipping it to a processing plant, most likely in the North or England, their primary consumers. Within ten years, cotton became the main crop in the south. In 1790, before the invention of the cotton gin, about 3000 bales of cotton were produced in the United States. Ten years later 100000 thousands bales were produced.
During the Industrial Revolution many important inventions made an impact in the economy of America. One of the greatest inventions in this time was made by Eli Whitney on March 14, 1974, he invented the cotton gin. The invention of the cotton gin made an impact in the Agriculture and manufacturing industry in the south of America. The south region used slaves in the production and collection of cotton. The cotton gin was a machine that was able to remove the cotton fibers from the seeds. This machine was more efficient and faster than a slave. The raised of cotton production made the slavery system even more important in the south. The idea of Whitney was to sell his machine to the farmers and get a percentage of the profits over the time.
Over the past few years cotton has gotten cheaper and cheaper. Yet, It’s gotten to the point where people start to wonder when history is going to repeat itself. In 2010 cotton prices looked like they did when America was in a civil war. Cotton reached a total price of $1.20 per pound. (Wall Street Journal 2013) The price of cotton now is about ninety-two cents per pound. (NYMEX - CME Group 2014). As you can see cotton prices have gotten cheaper, but many things can happen to cause the price of cotton to go up or for it to even come down lower than it is. The biggest factor in Americas cotton value is China. Yes, a country that we are in debt to is causing us to go in greater debt. Other factors are the quality of the cotton, and even mother nature and her weather that’s near the area where the cotton was grown at. These three things are the major reasons why cotton prices go up and down, but they aren’t the only ones. Various factors result in the fluctuating price of cotton.
Oils, balls, swabs, bandages, tissue, paper, napkins, diapers, socks, underwear, shirts, shorts, sweaters, pants, coats, towels, linen, cushions, drapery, upholstery, rugs, carpet, comforters, mattresses, insulation, filtration, and many other things that are used daily by everyone are composed of, or inspired by cotton. Cotton is a soft, fluffy, naturally occurring fiber plant that can be processed into an array of materials and goods.