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A History Of The Hemp Industry In Kentucky By James Hopkins

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The author of A History of the Hemp Industry in Kentucky, James Hopkins is a former professor and historian at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Hopkins tries to discuss the hemp industry in Kentucky and what role it played in Kentucky history. He discusses where the majority of American hemp grew, from the beginning of the nineteenth century until World War I. His focus in the book is on the hemp industry in Kentucky and does a good job relating the industry to production and manufacturing throughout the country. He does this by explaining “the methods of cultivating the crop, of obtaining the fiber from the plants, and of transforming that fiber into a finished product.” (p. vii) The author follows the history of the industry and the things …show more content…

It was home to abolitionist men such as Cassius Clay, never held a singular crop economy (such as cotton), and african-americans made up a small part of the state’s population. Kentucky was a border with characteristics of the north and the south. He stated that hemp, although no longer viable in the state’s economy, was very important to the state’s history. Hemp was a reason that slavery became prominent in the state. Yet the crop did not require the attention like others, so fewer slaves were required on farms in Kentucky in comparison with those of cotton plantations. From the early 1800’s through the Civil War, Kentucky hemp fiber was processed in large amounts. Dr. Hopkins does a good job discussing how the successful cultivation of hemp for commercial use really is dependent on a proper climate and good soil and for decades, Kentucky lead the nation in production of hemp without having an ideal climate. The average hemp crop produced almost eight hundred pounds an acre. Saying this, hemp requires fertile soil yet crops were grown in the same fields with little to no fertilization. This is because of restoration of the soil done by the decaying process of the

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