1 / 9

“Cotton is King!” and The Planter “Aristocracy”

“Cotton is King!” and The Planter “Aristocracy”. By: Austin Smith Alex Martin del Campo Period 7 Nov 17, 2008. The South and the Slavery Controversy. Slavery faced an uncertain future, some wanted it and others opposed it.

hasad
Download Presentation

“Cotton is King!” and The Planter “Aristocracy”

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. “Cotton is King!” and The Planter “Aristocracy” By: Austin Smith Alex Martin del Campo Period 7 Nov 17, 2008

  2. The South and the Slavery Controversy • Slavery faced an uncertain future, some wanted it and others opposed it. • The introduction of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin jumbled all those predictions. • The innovation greatly made cotton the key crop in the South, and it dangerously led to the dependence on cotton.

  3. Origin of Cotton • The cotton industry grew rapidly as the Civil War came. • Most of the South’s supply of cotton came from the Deep South and the Gulf States. • The cotton industry also depended on the fertility of the soil because the soil would produce bigger yields.

  4. Trade • Northern shippers depended heavily on the profits of the cotton trade. • The merchants would load bales of cotton at Southern ports and then they would sail towards England and sell their cargo for money. • To a degree, both the North and the South depended on the labor of the slaves. • The most important manufacture in the 1850’s was cotton cloth, which about one-fifth of the total cotton output was directed to.

  5. Trade (cont.) • Cotton accounted for more than half of all American exports after 1840. The South alone produced more than half of the worlds supply of cotton. • This asset held the other nations in a bondage with the U.S. Without “King Cotton” the empires of both Britain and France would decline because the factories would have to close their gates.

  6. Slavery • Due to the increasing profits yielded from the cotton, more and more slaves were bought so they could produce more. • Cotton, in a sense, helped stimulate the cause of the Civil War and made it inevitable.

  7. Aristocracy of the South • South was more of an oligarchy than a democracy • Heavily influenced by a planter aristocracy • In 1850, 1,733 families had 100 slaves each • Contained most of wealth • Sent children to the North for schooling • Hampered public schools in South

  8. Southern Living • Widened gap between rich and the poor • Money provided the leisure for study, reflection, and statecraft • Notably John C. Calhoun and Jefferson Davis • Had a keen sense of obligation to serve the public • South produced more front-rank statesmen than the “dollar-grubbing” North • An elite British author favored by the South was Sir Walter Scott

  9. Plantation System • Shaped the lives southern women • Commanded a sizeable household staff • Mostly female slaves • Relationships ranged between mistress and slaves • Most slave holding women didn’t believe in abolition

More Related