How Did The Crowning Of Cotton Affect The Economy

The crowning of cotton, was the beginning of a series of bad events for the South. It all started when the first slave stepped foot on American soil in 1619. Slavery was essential and key to the prosperity of the South's economy and cotton production throughout the antebellum period. The growth of cotton vastly affected the atmosphere and the lives of everyone in the South; including society and the slaves themselves.

First of all, cotton made a huge comeback with the invention of the cotton gin. Northern states and Britain's need for cotton increased rapidly. Yet, the Southern farmers could barely produce enough, due to the fact that it took so long to get the seeds out of the silky fibers. Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin was the

After seeing the struggle of removing the seeds, Eli decided that a machine was crucial to increase the production rate and the amount of exports. With the creation of the gin, the bar quickly rose from 1 pound of cotton to 50 pounds of cotton that could be cleaned per day. This allowed more slaves to work in the fields, rather than cleaning cotton, which resulted in the cost of cotton to decrease dramatically. Both the Northern states and Britain benefited from the growth of cotton because they could buy cotton at a cheaper price, expanding trade between them and the South. Before long, “cotton was the [official] “king” in South Carolina” and throughout the whole South (South Carolina Journey 119). The Upcountry also benefited because they started growing larger crops of cotton. Now, unlike before, the upcountry and lowcountry both supported the idea of slavery, as they owned plantations full

Plantation owners used one of two ways to make the farm function smoothly. One way was the task system, which was found on rice plantations. The slaves would complete the daily task and then have the leisure to do as they pleased for the remainder of the day. On the contrary, other slave owners used the gang system, which was mainly used on large upcountry cotton plantations. This system was much harder on the slaves because they were required to work from dawn to dusk, with no exceptions. All slaves were given limited portions of food and occasionally a new pair of clothes/rages. Despite this, the slaves still found a way to bring in their own culture and find happiness in their struggles. They managed to sing songs, play music, tell stories, raise children, and get married in attempt to “restore peace… [and] ease their sadness” within their slave quarters (South Carolina Journey pg, 124) . They prayed for freedom and looked at the exile of the Jews out of Egypt for hope and guidance. Frequently, the slaves would demonstrate forms of resistance such as; damaging property, pretending to be sick, working slowly, run away, or even organize a revolt. “The threat of slave revolts could paralyze the planters class with fear” therefore, slave patrols were on high alert throughout the South (South Carolina pg 124). The biggest slave revolt in history was planned to take place in July of 1822,