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SOUTHERN LIFE 13.1 – The Cotton Boom

MAIN IDEA The invention of the cotton gin made the South a one-

crop economy and increased the use of slave labor.

The cotton gin and slavery revived the South’s

economy and created a system in which farmers grew

mostly cotton and very little of anything else, despite

the encouragement of some to focus on other crops

and industries.

Nelson History Curriculum U.S. History through Reconstruction

NELSON HISTORY CURRICULUM 26

26 Southern Life – The Cotton Boom 13.1

Learning Target: I can describe the South’s economic system and how it increased the need for slave

labor.

Directions: Answer the questions below in your social studies notebook.

1. Describe the effects of steamboat and railroad travel on the United States.

2. Describe another invention and its impact on the U.S. during the mid-1800s.

1. The South’s economy in the mid-1800s relied almost exclusively on cotton production. What are

some negative aspects of an economy relying on one primary crop, product, or service?

Cotton gin – a machine that removes seeds from short-staple cotton.

Planters – large-scale farmers who held more than 20 slaves.

Cotton Belt – a region of high cotton production stretching across the south and as far west as Texas.

Factors – crop brokers who managed the cotton trade.

Tredegar Iron Works – one of the most productive iron works in the nation, located in Richmond,

Virginia.

Flashback

Preview

Vocabulary



Directions: Re-create the graphic organizer below in your social studies notebook to take notes as you

read.

Topic Information

Summary of Section:

Tobacco, rice, and indigo

dominated southern

agriculture prior to the

American Revolution.

Produced mostly by

slave labor, these crops

kept the southern

economy going.

Things began to change

after the American

Revolution. Prices of the

south’s staple crops

began to drop, meaning

the demand for and the

price of slaves began to

fall as well. Farmers

attempted to grow other

crops that required less

labor, but experienced

little success. Due to

economic factors, slavery was on the decline and some historians argue the use of slave labor would

have disappeared in the United States entirely if not for a boom in the cotton industry.

Cotton was not a new crop. It had been grown for centuries, but it was not profitable. Removing the

seeds from the cotton fibers was labor intensive. Long-staple cotton was easier to process, but grew in

The Rise of Cotton

As you read, take notes:



few places in the south. Short-staple cotton grew throughout the south, but removing the seeds was

difficult and time consuming.

Despite the difficulty in processing cotton, the demand for cotton increased rapidly during the industrial

revolution. Great Britain’s textile industry needed raw cotton that could be used for making cloth.

However, American cotton producers could not keep up with the demand. A faster method for

processing cotton was needed.

Eli Whitney created the cotton gin, a machine that removes seeds from short-staple cotton in 1793. The

cotton gin (“gin” is short for engine) used a hand-cranked cylinder with wire teeth to pull cotton fibers

from the seeds. The machine became so useful that his patent was often ignored by other

manufacturers. This machine helped give rise to the cotton industry and planters, or large-scale famers

who held more than 20 slaves. Now with a method to meet the demand for cotton from the textile

industry, planters began producing as much cotton as they could, which in turn increased the demand

and price of enslaved Africans.

After the invention of the cotton gin, cotton became so profitable, southern farmers abandoned most

other crops. The development of new types of cotton plants and the removal of Native Americans to

open up more land allowed cotton production to spread across the south as far west as Texas. This area

of high cotton production became known as the cotton belt.

Between 1791 and 1860, cotton production went from about 2 million pounds to a billion pounds. By

1840, the U.S. was producing more than half of the cotton grown in the world. The economic boom

attracted more settlers, built wealth among wealthy white southerners, and firmly put in place the

institution of slavery in the south.

Growing cotton had many advantages. It cost little to market, it could be stored for long periods, and it

cost less to transport since it is lighter than most crops.

Many farmers headed west to find land. Many utilized scientific methods to improve crop production.

The major disadvantage of cotton is it quickly uses up the land’s nutrients. In only a few years, cotton

can make the land useless for growing any crop. Scientists recommended crop rotation, which is when

farmers change the crop grown on a particular plot of land every few years. This would help keep the

land fertile since different crops need different nutrients. Other scientists began to study soil chemistry.

Formative Assessment

Explain what caused an increased demand for cotton and how the south met this demand.

Cotton becomes King



As the cotton belt grew, scientists

and farmers continued to improve

the cotton crop, using methods

such as crossbreeding different

varieties. As a result, new,

stronger types of cotton were

soon growing throughout the

cotton belt, which led to an

expansion of the industry.

The cotton industry was more than just growing the cotton. It included labor at various levels, from

harvesting, ginning, pressing it into bales, and shipping it to market or warehouses. Special agents

helped do everything from marketing cotton to customers to insuring crops against loss or damage.

Factories were built to produce items needed by cotton farmers, such as ropes to bale cotton.

Harvesting cotton required many field workers, so planters began to use more slave labor rather than

paying wages to free workers. Congress made bringing slaves into the U.S. illegal in 1808, however, the

growing demand led to an increase in the slave trade within the United Sates.

In an 1858 speech, South Carolina politician James Henry Hammond declared, “Cotton is King!” He

claimed the world’s economy would fail without cotton. Southern cotton was used to make cloth in

England and the northern U.S.

The cotton trade made the southern United States a major player in world trade and Great Britain

became the South’s most valued trading partner. This fact, and the sale of cotton to northern textile

factories, led to the growth of major port cities in the South, such as Charleston, South Carolina;

Savannah, Georgia; and New Orleans, Louisiana.

In these cities, crop brokers called factors, managed the cotton trade. Farmers sold their cotton to

merchants, who then made deals with the factors. Merchants and factors also arranged loans for

farmers who needed to buy supplies and often advised farmers on how to invest profits. Factors also

arranged for the cotton’s transportation aboard trading ships.

Shipping cotton by land to port cities was very difficult in the South. Few major road projects existed in

the South, so farmers shipped their goods on the region’s rivers, at first utilizing flatboats. Later,

hundreds of steamboats traveled up and down the Mississippi river each day transporting cotton.

Formative Assessment:

Identify the effect the cotton boom had on the slave trade in the United States.



Some leaders worried the south depended too much on cotton. They wanted southerners to try a

variety of cash crops and investments. Investing all of one’s resources and money into one industry

could result in severe economic problems if issues rise in that industry, such as a decline in demand or

prices, or in the case of cotton, a crop failure.

The primary southern food crop was corn. By the 1830s, the South had the top three corn producing

states. Other successful food crops included rice, sweet potatoes, wheat, and sugarcane.

Tobacco was the South’s first major crop, but it was time consuming to harvest and the leaves had to be

cured, or dried out. In 1839, a slave discovered a way to improve the drying process by using heat from

burning charcoal. This new, faster curing process increased tobacco production.

Due to the cotton boom, hemp and flax also became major cash crops. Their fibers were used to make

rope and sack cloth, which was used to bundle cotton into bales.

Many of the first factories in the South were built to serve farmers’ needs by processing crops such as

sugarcane. In 1803, the nation’s first steam-powered sawmill was built in Louisiana, enabling lumber

companies to cut, sort, and clean wood quickly.

By the 1840s, people in Georgia began investing in cotton mills. There were 14 in 1840. By the mid-

1850s, there were more than 50. Most built small-scale factories on the falls of a river for water power.

A few steam-powered mills were built in towns with enough water power.

Some southerners encouraged industrial growth in the south. In 1848, Josh R. Anderson became the

owner of Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia. It was one of the most productive iron works in

the nation. It was the only factory to produce bridge materials, cannons, steam engines, and other

products.

However, industry remained a small part of the southern economy. Southern industry faced stiff

competition from the North and England, both of which could produce goods more cheaply. As long as

agriculture profits remained high, southern investors preferred to invest in land.

Other Crops and Industries

Formative Assessment:

Infer why there were so few industries in the South.



Directions: Answer the questions below in your social studies notebook.

1. Describe how the cotton gin made cotton production easier.

2. Explain why slavery was on the decline before the cotton gin and how did slavery change

following the cotton gin.

3. Identify the areas that comprised the cotton belt.

4. Evaluate issues that could arise from the south’s reluctance to pay more attention to other

industries and focus so heavily on cotton.

5. Identify other crops and industries encouraged in the South.

6. Infer how the use of slave labor affected southern workers and non-planters.

7. Analyze how the differences between the South and North could lead to conflict.

Cotton Dependence Editorial

Directions: Pretend you are the editor for a small-town newspaper in the South. You will write an

editorial supporting or warning against local farmer’s reliance on cotton. Your editorial will include a

thesis statement, or your position on the issue, at least two strong reasons to support the position, and

evidence (such as examples or statistics) to support each reason. Before writing, re-create and complete

the Effects of the Cotton Boom chart below. Consider the economic importance of cotton as well as the

issue of slavery when completing your chart.

Effects of the Cotton Boom

Positive Negative

Review

Closure Activity



Directions: Use the map below to answer the questions that follow.

1. Based on the maps above, infer why sugar, tobacco, rice, and wheat were not prevelant in the

region in which most cotton was grown.

2. What crops was Kentucky most noted for growing at this time preriod.

3. Based on the map above, in which southern state did slaves make up the greatest percentage of

total population?

Analyzing Maps



1. Slavery was on the decline prior to the Cotton Boom due to,

a. a decline in prices for staple crops and slaves

b. pressure from abolitionists to end slavery

c. the U.S. banning the importation of slaves in 1808

d. an increased demand in cotton

2. The cotton gin’s impact on the South included all of the following EXCEPT,

a. giving rise to large-scale farmers, known as planters

b. an increase in the production of cotton

c. an increase in the demand and price of slavery

d. a diverse economy based on several staple crops

3. A disadvantage to growing cotton after the cotton gin was invented was,

a. removing seeds from the fibers was time consuming

b. transporting cotton was difficult

c. cotton used up the soil’s nutrients quickly

d. None of the Above

4. Explain why some southerners warned farmers not to depend too much on cotton.

5. Explain how cotton affected other industries.

Section 13.1: Assessment

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