King Cotton

One major way that cotton helped increase westward expansion was not particularly derived from cotton at all. In pre-Civil War days, the South used slaves to harvest it. In order for cotton to grow the best, there needs to be a long growing season, lots of sunshine, decent amoung of rainfall, and, most importantly, rich soil. This was best found in the Deep South, like Mississippi and Alabama. Swampy areas, like Jamestown, Virginia, were better used for tobacco. Regardless, these states south of the Mason-Dixon Line all allowed slavery. These states claimed that it was their right to determine if they should have slaves or not, and fearing a war that the nation may not overcome, the federal government always had a great pressure to make compromises. The northern states did not allow slavery, and there were many abolitionists who fought to get rid of this terrible practice. Areas west of the Mississippi were slow to get settled, even after Lewis and Clark. However, when Texas wanted to join the Union, the nation had to find a free state that could balance out that state's pro-slavery position. Also, westward expansion meant that either side could gain the upper advantage, which was much more crucial to the South. Because of this, events such as Bleeding Kansas took place, as everyone wanted to grab as much land as they could, vote on the slavery or no slavery selection, and hopefully gain a stronger force in Washington, D.C. This promotion would lead to westward expansion, as Southerners would again try their luck at growing plants, such as cotton.

2008-01-29 18:14:51 by kirik990

Sousa

They have so much in common, put their pics side by side and they sort of look alike. Cotton can't really lift his legs, and McCain can't really lift his arms. Both of them were captured and tortured by the enemy. Cotton and McCain married younger women. Both of them constantly talk about being captured and being in the war.

I would write that off to coincidence. Cotton has been around for a good long while, but McCain has only recently become recognizable to most people. Why on earth would Mike Judge model a character after McCain several years ago? I don't believe he did.

2008-09-27 15:25:42 by Patti Ann

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I need to know why cotton was king of south..

Cotton was the money crop of the south. It was exported to England and the North.

2007-12-30 15:50:52 by tomatoe

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i have a project im doing right now and im doing economic growth in the 19th century and i mean king cotton like the south and slaves etc....? thanks

Here is a direct reference, from the book "Big Cotton" by Stephen Yafa, pg 145:

James Henry Hammond of South Carolina made a speech in the Senate in 1858. He said "Would any sane nation make war on cotton? Without firing a gun, without drawing a sword, should they make war on us, we could bring the whole world to our feet. The South is willing to go on one, two, three years without planting a seed...What would happen if no cotton were furnished for three years? England would topple headlong, and carry the whole civilized world with her, save the South. No, you dare not make war on cotton. No power on earth dares make war on cotton. Cotton is King"

This book is a wealth of information on the cotton industry in the US, from the 1700s to today. In pre-Civil War times cotton was almost the entire industry of the South (50% of the South's assets were in slaves to serve the cotton industry) and southern cotton supplied 85% of England's cotton needs and 100% of the North's cotton needs for the mills in Massachusetts. From an economic point of view cotton was king for the US, and for the world too.

2009-09-04 17:31:20 by Morgan

why was it important? please?

Almost unanimously, Southerners believed they could use cotton to lure England and France into recognizing the Confederacy. Since the administration of Jefferson Davis wanted to avoid any appearance of international "blackmail," the Confederate Congress never formally approved an embargo, but state governments and private citizens voluntarily withheld the crop from the market in hopes of causing a "cotton famine" overseas.

Theoretically, widespread shortages would shut down European mills, forcing governments to recognize and perhaps come to the military aid of the Confederacy, or to declare the Union blockade ineffective and disregard or break it in order to reopen Southern ports.

2008-12-14 02:01:03 by elizabeth