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Cotton Industry and the South

Cotton Industry and the South. Following the American Revolution slavery had been on the decline because the prices of rice, tobacco and indigo had all fallen Cotton c hanges that!. Cotton Production in the U.S. before the Cotton Gin. Long-staple cotton (Black Seed Cotton) Easy to process

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Cotton Industry and the South

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  1. Cotton Industry and the South

  2. Following the American Revolution slavery had been on the decline because the prices of rice, tobacco and indigo had all fallen • Cotton changes that!

  3. Cotton Production in the U.S. before the Cotton Gin • Long-staple cotton (Black Seed Cotton) • Easy to process • Did not grow well in many places • Short-staple cotton (Green Seed Cotton) • Difficult to process • Easily grown throughout the south • In the 1790s a demand for cotton will increase due to an increase and improvement in textile mills in the North and in Europe

  4. Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin • Patented in 1793 a modified machine used for Long Staple Cotton • Gin = engine • It is a hand cranked cylinder with wire teeth to pull cotton fibers from the seeds • Revolutionized the cotton industry • Planters will build larger versions of the machine to process more cotton at one time

  5. Cotton Boom • Cotton become so profitable that all other crops are abandoned • Cotton Belt – area of high cotton production • 1791 = 2 million pounds produced • 1860 1 billion pounds produced • Produced half of the worlds’ cotton

  6. Advantages of Cotton • Could be stored for a long time without spoiling • Light and cost less to transport

  7. Impact of the Cotton Boom • Required crop rotation because of its rapid use of soil nutrients • Improved science and understand of soil to improve yield and crop • Study of the soil • Study of cross breeding types of plants • Factories to supply farmers with what they needed to grow cotton • Demand for slave labor to harvest growing fields

  8. “Cotton is King” • South believed that it was the most important resource in the U.S. • Created the major port cities in the South • Cotton was primarily shipped to market on the rivers due to the poor highway system in the South • Many worried that the South was too dependent on cotton and should diversify

  9. Other Southern Crops • Corn • Wheat • Rice • Sweet potatoes • Sugar cane • Tobacco • Hemp – used to make rope • Flax – used to make sacks to transport cotton

  10. Industry in the South • Built to meet farmers needs • Small in scale • Water powered was common • Tredegar Iron Works – only southern factory to produce bridge material, cannon, and steam engines

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