Chapter 11: Cotton, Slavery and the Old South
Early South
-Upper south: tobacco
-market unstable
-uses up soil
-some shift to other crops
-Lower south
-rice-possible in few places
-sugar- labor intensive, need $
-Many turn to short-staple cotton (grows in a variety of climates)
-Problem: can’t get out seeds
-Solution: Cotton Gin (Eli Whitney)
-Cotton Gin solves final bottleneck in textile production, enough cotton
-Effect on IR on cotton production
-1820 to 1860 increases 4,500,000 bales
-2/3 of total exports $200,000,000
-Cotton is “King” (king cotton)
-Cotton production in the deep south lead to shift in slave production away from Chesapeake region
Southern Industry and Trade
-Majority of trade in south due to cotton
-Planters use a broker or ‘factor’ to find a buyer for the cotton
-Since the south has not developed a merchant class, most brokers were found in North
-South did not develop a complex banking system- Often went to factor for loans
-Transportation limited
-Money not put into canals and railroads
-What track they have is not a network
-Why not a diverse economy?
-Lot of money in cotton + other crops
-Legacy of Jefferson, anti-big city and industry
-James De Bow
-De Bow’s review
-Economic independence from North
Southern Society
-Status/Wealth defined by property
-Percent of Southern population that owned slaves 5%
-Percent of families that owned slaves 20-25%
-Large planter (on the top socially/politically)
-At least 800 acres
-At least 50 slaves
-2,292 owned over 100
-Top of society: have the power, Elite: become political leaders
-Southern Women
-Less educated
-Less involved
-More subservient
-More involved in farm
-Education
-Beyond basic ed. For sons of wealthy
-Many Educated at military school VMI
-Thomas Jackson- Religious (stonewall general)
-Social Structure
-Plain Folk
-Most small farms
-Few own slaves
-Connected to large...