The Role Of Cotton Economy In The 19th Century

White southerners felt that African Americans would not give their full potential in labor unless they were threatened with beatings. In a few cases, resistance caused masters to reduce work hours and improve working conditions. The domestic slave trade between 1820 and 1860 took a toll on many slave families. As the expansion of the cotton kingdom grew the need for money began the trade amongst masters and slave traders. Masters sold men, women, and children.

Outline: African Americans * Immigrants* Rural Farmers Women of colour Extra: WASPS Prohibition Industry Women "All Americans experienced the boom of the 1920 's" In the United States, a popular belief is that all Americans experienced the boom of the 1920 's. However, minority groups were left out of the country 's economic success at the time. African Americans remained a minority group even with movements such as the 'Harlem Renaissance ' and the creation of the NAACP. Similar to African Americans, immigrants old and new were often below or just above the poverty line and were still 'last hired, first fired ' with hate being directed to their entry and existence from the people as well as the government. As the rest of the America

Firstly, the owners of land ownership in the southern colonies rapidly pooled their land, forming a large-scale farms, which, respectively, required much more labor. Second, the price of tobacco, the main crop of the South, in the 1660s fell and remained at a low level, forcing all the planters to sell cheaper. Third, as population growth in England and at the same time reduced to improve living conditions, the number of people who wanted to go to America as indentured workers, reduced - thus the number Servent also declined. Fourth, the laws of Virginia and other colonies were aimed at the worsening situation of black workers and ultimately led to legitimize the system of slave labor. Although theoretically black workers were free men, in fact, they had to put up with infringement of their civil, legal and property rights.

While no skillset was mentioned in Negroes for Sale, the fact that skills are mentioned in this advertisement highlights the fact that the slaves are seasoned. The seasoning was a period where the salves were “acclimatized to the plantation routines” and accultured (Hine 40). Also, the fact that “honesty” is repeated thrice suggest that it was an important quality the buyers looked for in a slave. North American planters preferred “seasoned” slaves and they were brought for resale in the North American market (Hine 41). In the years to follow, the number of African-American slaves arriving through ships from West Africa continued to increase and fell as the United States abolished the Atlantic slave trade in 1808 (Hine 43).

In the early 1800s, when plantation owners left almost all other crops in favour of the newly profitable cotton. To increase cotton production planters purchased more slaves from Africa and the West Indies before the slave trade was banned in 1808. Thousands of blacks were brought into the United States during these years to tend to cotton fields, the size of plantations increased from relatively small plots to huge farms with as many as several hundred slaves each. Because the entire Southern economy became dependent on cotton, it also became dependent on slavery. Although Northern factories certainly benefited indirectly from slavery, Northern social customs were not tied to slavery as Southern customs were.

With the rise in the production of cotton, the south needed more slaves in order to control and to work the cotton production. This invention increased the demand for slave labor. The invention of The Cotton Gin led to a prosperity in the Southern economy creating a one-crop economy for the South. There was a pressure put on the relationship between the North and the South and their different perceptions of slavery

Picture the early days of the cotton industry: The Africans, being forced to migrate from their land, the sudden work that falls upon their shoulders, and to deal with the heartache of the separate from their families; beside this they carried Africans into slavery, in order to pick in a cotton field. In the process of building a great economy in America, most people lost the human side of them, or forget that people with dark skin are also human with hearts, not a machine! Ralph Waldo Emerson, express his opinion by saying: “Money often costs too much.”[1] During the seventieth century the money charged the Africans their lives. Owners of farms did not stop by making Negros picking crops, however they crossed the line and started trading them as a material. The public called it by “the slave trade”.

What was the south all about? Cotton was not the only crop grown in the South, but it was sure the crop that fueled the Southern economy. Southerners began saying ''Cotton is king'' because cotton became so populated that they would choose it over Industry. The cotton gin was a compact machine that removed seeds from cotton fibers. The value of enslaved people increased because of their key role in producing cotton and sugar.

One of the major reasons that Virginia had a greater amount of slave was due to Chesapeake plantation which demanded a large amount of slaves to cultivate plantation. Meanwhile, up north in Massachusetts in the New England region slavery was not as high demand as in the south. By the 17 century their social structure was based on cultivators and plantation, and population was at its highest peak in 1760 due the slavery trade. The North and south Caroline brought their profit mostly by the slave trade since the southern region demanded high range of

The slavery in colonial America started around 1600 with indentured slaves, but after some time, people were often sold and bought unintentional. In 1619, the first African slaves arrived in Virginia and by 1820, almost four Africans for every European had crossed the Atlantic. In the late 1800‘s around 12.5 million slaves had been shipped from Africa, and 10.5 million had arrived in America. Prices of slaves varied a lot over time, and it was expensive to own a slave, but it was gainful. In order to make sure the effectiveness of slaves, most slave owners supplied only the bare minimum of food and shelter needed for the slaves to survive and then forced them to work twenty-four hours a day.

The government kept on earning money. More and more African Americans settled in the south wanting to restart their life. African American didn’t have much money, clothes or food and they were in desperate search of jobs. All African Americans did their whole life was farming so that was the only thing they knew how to do well because most of them didn’t even have an education. Most of the slaves stuck to farming and did sharecropping.

Southern states defended slavery by using history:” Slavery has been legal for a long time before now, so it is a natural thing to do.” On the other hand, the main point was that slaves planting and picking cotton would heavily boost the economy. There were plenty of other reasons justifying why slavery should be legal, but these were some main points. African-American people during pre-civil war times had a harsh life. Many black people during this time just mainly worked all of their lives non-stop. Thinking back, if slavery still existed now with all of this technology it would be even more wrong than it was before.

In the 1800s, slavery was a prominent figure in the United States of America. . As no clear records of slaves were kept, estimates of their total numbers can not be based on a census, but are instead determined by the knowledge that slaves (originally brought to the New World in 1619) reproduced at a rapid rate. Additionally, the continued influx of slaves through the American Civil War caused the total number of enslaved Africans to grow. Thus, In the mid-1800s, the total number of slaves was estimated to be somewhere in the realm of four million.

(Holton, 66) Most slave imports were sold on credit due to Virginia’s money crises. The Currency Act—which made printing legal paper tender illegal—did nothing to help alleviate the problem. (Holton, 62) Even big-shot, wealthy growers were unable to make some purchases without using credit. The problem was only more intense for the poor Virginian farmers, who made almost all purchases (especially slaves) on credit. It didn’t help that the slave duty was at a whopping twenty percent.

They also grew cotton as it was a promising crop, but it was difficult for them to get out the unnecessary parts. That is why the invention of the “cotton gin” was very important for the South, as it helped them get out seeds faster than a slave could. Ten years after the invention of the “cotton gin”, cotton became the South’s most important