An overview of the economy in the antebellum South

1. The Cotton Economy
p. 299-307

2. Rise of King Cotton
 Tobacco: the first choice in the South!
 Problems:
 Prices subject to frequent depressions
 One went from 1820’s-1850’s
 Wore out the Soil
 Thus, farmers in VA, MD, NC switched to other crops
 Wheat

3. Rise of King Cotton
 Rice:
 Mainly in SC, GA, FL
 More stable, more lucrative
 Demanded high amounts of irrigation
 9-month growing season!
 Competition w/ Caribbean sugar
 Restricted to a very small geographic area

4. Rise of King Cotton
 Sugar:
 Along the gulf coast (LA and TX)
 Quite profitable
 Required intensive labor
 Also a long growing season

5. Rise of King Cotton
 Failures or limitations of the other crops led to
COTTON!
 Hardy, could grow successfully in variety of climates
 Variety of soils
 Cotton gin made processing cotton much easier
 Demand grew very quickly
 1st English textile mills
 2nd New England’s textile mills

6. Rise of King Cotton
 Production spread into SC, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, AR
 Prices were up and down, but overall profitable
 By Civil War, cotton was 2/3 of the total export trade of
the entire US!
 $200 million/year; “cotton is king”

7. Shift in Slave Population
 Dramatic increase in number of slaves in South
 As cotton production moved west, slavery went with it
 Also, a migration of slaves from Upper South to Deep
South
 See maps on p. 301

8. Southern Trade and Industry
 Manufacturing developed very slowly in south
 Total value of textile production in South was only 2% of
value of cotton exports!
 Easy to see why South stayed with cotton!
 Merchants found buyers for cotton, brokers or factors
 Rudimentary banking system
 What do we know about the inadequate transportation
system? Volunteers to discuss?
 “Economic subordination” of the South to the North???

9. The South’s “Colonial
Dependency”
 Why didn’t the South develop a larger
industrial/commercial economy?
 Why did it remain so different from the North?

10. The South’s “Colonial
Dependency”
 Large profits from agriculture
 Capital invested in land & slaves
 Increased dependency on slavery
 Climate not suitable for industry???
 Some claimed Southerners lacked a strong work ethic
 What do you think?
 A distinct way of life; the Southern way; elegance, chivalry;
time moved slower
 Disdain for Yankees, rapid growth

11. Scarlett from Gone with the
Wind, 1939

12. White Society in the South
 Only a small minority in South owned slaves
 Only about 6% in 1850
 The number changes somewhat when you consider that
each family had 5 members in it, so the number was
actually about 25% of homeowners had slaves
 Those who did own slaves typically had only a few
 Yeoman farmers are the majority in the antebellum
South

13. Time to Share
 I will draw a name out, and you will have to share on
the following information:
 Planter Aristocracy & the Cavalier Myth
 Plantation Management
 Aristocratic Values—Honor & Chivalry
 Subordinate Status of Women/The Southern Lady

14. Brooks & Sumner in
Congress

15. Time to Share
 More sharing!
 Other burdens
 Limited educational opportunities
 Hill people
 Close relations with the plantation aristocracy
 Commitment to paternalism
 Limited class conflict