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How Cotton Became King
How did cotton become such an important commodity and what was its impact? I will explain the growth of cotton production in the south , the rise of king cotton on society , and the rise of the impact of king cotton on slaves. These are the topics involving cotton’s rise.
To begin with , we will talk about cotton becoming king. The first popular kind of cotton in the south east coast was black seed cotton. The inland farmers grew short staple cotton, which grew better in their soil, although their seeds were harder to remove (SC Journey,119). The cotton became the main cash crop in South Carolina because indigo failed and textiles became a popular business in the north and in England (SC Journey, 118). This is why
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cotton became very popular. The growth of cotton production became easier because of new technology. Eli Whitney invented a roller with spiked teeth on a crank that would get the seed out of the cotton, yet Eli Whitney died broke because after people saw how to make a cotton gin they made their own. The machine worked well for black seed cotton. The invention of the cotton gin caused the “planters ideal” that brought the upcountry and lowcountry together because they both supported slavery because of the large cotton production. This brought both parts together because both were earning money. The next topic on cotton is its effects on society.
The first impact cotton had on society was the slaves. This affected the slaves because more were needed to work and this led people to be able to take better care of them because they had more cotton profit (SC Journey, 121). The plantation system and how it works is our next topic. The plantation became part of the south's culture and the plantations became its own community (most things needed to keep everything running smoothly was found on the farm). Slaves were alway under the watch of a master, driver, or overseer of some sort. Slaves were often disciplined by their masters for a number of reasons but some slave owners weren’t as cruel. The society of the north led a process of trying to industrialize while the south wanted plantations to grow. There were small incentives for investors who invested in plantations. Most plantations had a substantial crop but also had small amounts of livestock. During the early 1800’s cotton was at its all time high and cotton farmers became very wealthy , but in 1819 the cotton crop was at a ruin and an all time low. This caused the farmers to want to leave to find a better place to plant , such as Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi (SC Journey 126). This caused the people to want to introduce industry to South …show more content…
Carolina. The last paragraph is about the impact of the rise of king cotton on slaves.
When the plantations spread, slavery spread with it and there were two types of slavery systems. The first type of slavery system was the task system,used mainly on the sea islands. This system was a system where the slave had to finish the day's task before they could relax. The other system was the gang system, used mostly inland, where slaves would work from dawn till dusk (SC Journey 123). African slaves created slave communities. These were places where the slave could relax after a hard day's work and they created their own system of life for recreation. This is where they taught their children to avoid punishment so they wouldn’t get sold. They held lessons to teach younger people life lessons. Couples would hold wedding ceremonies. They also learned bible stories and they taught a lot of Moses and the people leaving Egypt and this caused resistance. After many slaves revolts being uncovered, the slave patrol was on high alert. A large revolt was planned to free Denmark Vesey who led one of the largest revolts in history. Vesey became free and made money as a well respected carpenter and then he tried to make the slave revolt , which freed many people. To end, we will talk of life on a cotton plantation. The plantation owners relied greatly on the slave to be bent over working six days a week. Their lives were hard protecting the crop all week. Other slaves worked on jobs to keep up with the
farm's needs. The slave owners provide the slaves with dirt floor cabin and bacon as well as cornmeal ( SC Journey 125). It was very hard for the slaves watching the slave owners make all the profit off of them. The cotton crop affected most of America at the time. As we went over the reason why cotton was so important, we learned what all it effected and how it became king cotton, its effect on the slaves, society and that is how it became king. Now as we look back, cotton truly shaped the south’s economy and society.
Southerners produced more than 50% of the entire world’s supply of cotton. About 75% of the luxurious cotton supply came from Southern states.
Being a slave in the North and South were very different. The Northern states had factories and small farms, so most of the slave did house work. The Southern states had big plantations and needed slaves to pick the cotton so their masters can make their
Secondly, the demand for cotton grew tremendously as cotton became an important raw material for the then developing cotton industries in the North and Britain. The growing of cotton revived the Southern economy and the plantations spread across the south, and by 1850 the southern U.S produced more than 80% of cotton all over the world. As this cotton based economy of the south grew so did the slave labor to work in these large scale plantations since they were more labor-intensive...
They were pieces of property that quickly transformed into required elements of plantation machinery. African slaves were regarded as a large, dependable, and permanent source of 'cheap labor' because slaves rarely ran away and when caught they were severely punished. The creation of the plantation system of farming were essential factors in maintaining the idea of slavery. Ironically, the New World was created to find political and religious freedom and escape oppression.
Slave trading was very traumatic for the slaves, being separated from the only thing they knew. Some lived on plantations under a watchful eye, and others worked right beside their owners. Slaves on large plantations usually worked in gangs, and there were better positions to work than others. Some gangs were separated into groups of lighter workers, consisting of men and women. Other gangs weren't so lucky and were assigned to hard labor.
The Northern economy was based on many different industries, such as shipping, textiles, lumber, fur and mining. (Mr. Kash). Most people in the north lived on small farms to raise livestock and food to eat. Manufacturing quickly developed with water power and coal from steam plants. The north favored high tariffs to protect its industries from foreign competition. The Southern economy focused on agriculture so towns and cities slowly grew and took form. Cash Crops such as cotton, indigo, tobacco, rice and sugarcane were grown on plantations. The invention of the cotton gin allowed cotton to take over southern economy. The cotton industry developed rapidly and spread all over the south. This industry was so big that cotton exports made ⅔’s american exports. ( Civil War Trust). Slavery was essential for prosperity of southern economy. The south had little manufacturing and hated high tariffs because high tariffs would make overseas buyers not want to buy their stuff and make them increase their tariffs making it more expensive for the south to
Slavery allowed the American economy to flourish for over 300 years. It allowed many Southern states to grow at a furious pace without significantly diversifying their economy. The South relied on the harvesting of cash crops such as tobacco and cotton, which were very labor intensive. Without much cheap labor, slaves were relied on to harvest the crops; this provided enormous value to farmers and plantation owners in the region. However, the institution of slavery was challenged in the 18th century by decades of Enlightenment thought, newfound religious ideals, and larger abolitionist groups. After the American Revolution many states would ban the practice of slavery completely and only a few would maintain the “peculiar institution”.
In addition to the Missouri Compromise, the invention of the cotton gin had a significant economic impact on the South that eventually caused more tension with the North The cotton gin, invented in 1793 by Eli Whitney, was a tool for removing cotton seeds from cotton fibers. Cotton could now be c...
In the late 1700’s the slave population in the United States had decreased. Before the invention of the cotton gin the South, which could only make money by farming, was loosing money because it didn’t have a major crop to export to England and the North besides tobacco and rice. However, these crops could be grown elsewhere. Cotton was the key because it couldn’t be grown in large amounts in other places, but only one type of cotton that could be cleaned easily. This was long-staple cotton. Another problem arose; long-staple cotton only could be grown along the coast. There was another strain of cotton that until then could not be cleaned easily so it wasn’t worth growing. The cotton gin was the solution to this problem. With the invention of the cotton gin short stemmed cotton could be cleaned easily making cotton a valued export and it could be grown anywhere in the south. The era of the “Cotton Kingdom” began with this invention leading into an explosion in the necessity of slaves.
In 1860 about 400,000 white families owned approximately 4 million slaves. Owners of large plantations and farms grew crops for the market and also for home use. Cotton became the most important crop to grow in the United States. By the time of the Civil War, 4.9 million bales of cotton were being harvested yearly and a good portion of it was being transferred to the North. Slaves played an important role for the South, as they used them for cheap laborer and could make a quick profit from it.
Colonist started to import slaves from South America in hopes that they would live longer and be more manageable to control. The slaves that were imported were trained past their first year of slavery, so that they would not die as fast. The first imported slaves came to America in the early 17th century. When they received the slaves they found out some of them were baptized, and were under the Christian religion. So they could not be treat as slaves under the religion so they were turned into indentured servants. There were very few vague laws on slavery, but it was always a permanent servitude. At first slaves had limited right, and were aloud to own land, after their period of slavery was over. They were allowed to marry and have children. The slaves kids that were born while they were enslaved were not consider to be slaves, but to be free under the law.
In the beginning of the 1800s, economic diversities between the two different regions had also grown. By the year 1860, cotton was the chief crop for the South; it also represented fifty-seven percent of all American exports. The prosperity of cotton fulfilled the South's reliance on the plantation system and its crucial elementslavery.
Servitude is a usual part of African ritual. Tribes would often use trade to obtain slaves by going to the head chief and trading for livestock. Not only did various tribes trade with the people of their countries, but with the Europeans of other nationalities as well. There were times that tribes would go to war and keep chiefs and prisoners of war were kept as slaves, to trade with European countries. Many times slaves were sold due to being punished, or to rape and other various crimes. Some were also forced into life of captivity. It was common for young individuals to be kidnapped and taken to a home of a common family to work and serve them. Many owners would treat their slaves fairly. The masters would own a piece of property and have an apartment for their own personal family along with a home for the enslaved family. Equiano talks about how many slaves owned their own slaves in some cases. If a family was wealthy enough, they would accommodate their property, meaning the slaves. They were a part of the owner’s family and were as brutally treated comparing to slaves of the Colonial U.S.
By 1860, nearly 3,950,528 slaves resided in the United States (1860 census). Contrary to popular belief, not all slaves worked in hot and humid fields. Some slaves worked as skilled laborers in cities or towns. The slaves belonged to different social or slave classes depending on their location. The treatment of the slaves was also a variable that changed greatly, depending on the following locations: city, town or rural. Although all slaves were products of racial views, their living conditions, education, and exposure to ideas differed greatly depending on their social classes and if they lived in a rural or urban setting.
Slavery was the practice of taking a human being and making them do the work of another by force. This was practiced through out the ancient world and especially in Rome and Greece. Slaves were nothing more than just property to the ancient peoples. They didn't have the rights of citizens nor were they able to do what they want in most cases. Slaves had many tasks that they had to do, many of which included taking care of the masters house and kids, cooking and cleaning that house, herding the cattle for the farming families, being guards for some prisons, fighting for entertainment of the masses, and more common was sexual activities with the slaves.