Civil War: The Cotton Industry

The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney in 1793. Versions of a cotton gin have existed since the first century in which single rollers were used to try to separate the seed from the cotton. Over time, a double roller system was invented. Finally, in 1793, the version invented by Whitney actually used teeth-like projections to remove the seed from the cotton. A belt and pulley system then separated the lint from the seeds. It revolutionized the cotton industry by making it more profitable. A machine was now used to remove seeds from cotton rather than having to remove them by hand. This allowed more cotton to be processed quicker which made production of cotton more efficient for farmers. Prior to the invention of the cotton gin, slavery was actually dying out in the southern United States due to how labor intensive the removal of seeds from cotton had become. Due to increased productivity, cotton became a cash crop in the South

Cotton was not a commodity as it later became due to its difficulty as well as high cost in refining it. Typically in the South, crops, such as indigo, tobacco, and rice, were cultivated largely by hand by small groups of slaves. Slavery had already been quite popular among planters in the South due to its historical tendency for agriculture, but slavery had been on the decrease mostly due to the rising cost of maintaining slaves. Slavery had originally been on the decline and was planned to be abolished by many Southern legislative leaders ("Pre-Cotton Gin America." Web). Though little did they know, Eli Whitney’s cotton gin would answer their questions in regards to the struggle of cotton harvesting.

With the invention of the “cotton gin” and other inventions like it, it caused the demand for slaves to go up and to man these machines. The crops they grew in the South were tobacco, rice, sugar cane, and indigo. These were mostly the "big money" crops sold. Near some of the bays in the South, they gathered fish, oysters, and crabs. They also grew cotton as it was a promising crop, but it was difficult for them to get out the unnecessary parts.

This made the south a major figure in trade making them a lot of money. With the mass production that the cotton gin offered “The United states was producing more than half of the cotton growth

North and South were heavily dependent on each other during the years before the Civil War. The South produced materials (especially tobacco and cotton) which were America 's chief export goods. The southern states exported around 80% of the goods that brought cash into the American economy.

America had a rapid urbanization which was results of the rapid industrialism. We had vast amount of industries and had the need for more resources. To gain more profit, we needed to look outside our country for business. We needed resources from other land to continue our growth. One country we invested for resources was Cuba.

The manufacturers were faced with maintaining a high crop yield, but luckily the Caribbean islands provided an ideal location for growing cane sugar. Once plantations were constructed yet another issue confronted the owners, cheap labor. For the plantations to produce large enough quantities of sugar to fulfill the demand, many slaves were necessary; thus, a successful slave industry arose with the aid of these wealthy entrepreneurs who hoped to own successful plantations. The absentee owners in England, Spain, and France became increasingly wealthy as the demand and industry for sugar

Agriculture dominated the south with its ability to produce exceptional wealth for plantation owners. However, they were in need of labor and so they “made all men their slaves in hopes of recompenses.” (Doc. F) Many Englishmen brought over indentured servants from Europe who served as the foundation of the labor force for plantations. Soon enough, ¾ of the population in the south colonies were made of indentured servants.

The sugar trade was a million pound industry (today many billions of dollars) that forced a great migration of African people, a handful of empires expanding, and large amounts of wealth dealt to people who have never set foot in the west indies. The sugar trade was a trade between England and others to the West Indies back to England and others and around the world. The sugar trade was driven by wealthy families of England, the popularity of sugar and, also by the hard work of slaves. Wealthy families provided capital so the sugar trade would work. If you were to buy a 500 acre sugar plantation you would need at least “a sugar development plant consisting of several buildings, slave huts, a stable, several shops and stores, 300 slaves, 150

The Southern Colonies had a mainly agriculture economy. There was good farmland in the South and there were a lot of plantations. The three main cash crops of the Southern Colonies were rice, indigo and tobacco. These generated lots of money and the slaves were necessary to it being successful. Farmers had their crops shipped downstream to the coast where it was directly sent to England.

The 19th century was an era of dramatic change in the lives of African Americans. By the early 1800s, cotton was the most profitable cash crop, and slave owners focused on clearing lands and securing laborers to proliferate cotton production. The lack of available, fertile land in coastal areas compelled the move into the southern interior, sparking a massive westward migration of planters and slaves. The demands and rewards of the "King Cotton" economy resulted in a fivefold population increase during the first six decades of the 19th century, but it kept the South an unsophisticated agricultural economy.

The invention of the cotton gin created a market for cotton that the planters could hardly supply without cheap labor. Almost every available acre was brought under cotton culture as the small farmers were driven into the West. The demand for slaves to work the fields was enormous. This led to the development of the plantation system of the Far South and Southwest, where masters were near constantly extending their holdings of lands and slaves. Efforts to form new slave states were common, most prominent of these efforts was that to annex Texas.

The Portuguese took sugar cane grass from South and East Asia and they planted it in Brazil. Then, they sold the cane sugar to Europe and North America. This sale made North America involved with the Triangle Trade. “The triangle trade fed the innovation-driven insatiability of British mills. Only after industrialization could advanced nations benefit from free trade, and they used their empires to force it on the developing world.”

2. Sugarcane plantations – The sugarcane plantation was a plantation that had sugar as its main crop. Sugarcane became a popular crop throughout the world. These plantations were all across Brazil. The European workers died quickly while working in the plantations from different diseases.

Lastly, with the expansion of the country to the west and into what we now know as Texas drove the need for more slaves to work the land. With the decrease of demand for tobacco and rice, plantations turned to the new crop cotton. In 1800 less than half a million bales of cotton