King Cotton
The Unites States is one of the main cotton producers in the world, so much so that the most commonly used widely known phrase to describe the growth of the American economy during the 1830s was “Cotton is King”. So why was Cotton so important to the American economy? cotton was often reference as ‘king’ because it was viewed as a luxury commodity. The invention of the cotton gin greatly increased the production of cotton harvested by slaves. This resulted in intensely higher profits for planters, which in turn let to a dramatically high demand for labor, aka slaves. Cotton produced in the Unites States became a lot more cheaper than cotton that was produced from somewhere else at the time because of the amount of land that was under cultivation. However, cotton was critical to the American economy because of the amount of profit it created, and opened the gates of trading with Britain and other nations, all while using slave labor to keep down costs and losses,
When the cotton …show more content…
More than two-thirds of the 2.5 million African slaves that arrived in the United States in 1850, worked on cotton plantations (Beckert). The value of slaves also increased along with the rising cotton productivity. To put it in perspective, the value of slaves was equal to about seven times the total value of all currency in circulation in the country and twelve times the value of the entire cotton industry in the United States (Bekert). Because of their value, slaves were used as an insurance to secure loans and as commodities to pay off debt, as well as for trade purposes for other goods. Slaves also became a political capital when the U.S. Constitution gave slaves the status of three-fifths of a person during a constitutional convention. Known as the Three-fifths Compromise, slaves were given the status largely for tax purposes and representation in
The Unites States is one of the main cotton producers in the world, so much so that the most commonly used widely known phrase to describe the growth of the American economy during the 1830s was “Cotton is King”. So why was Cotton so important to the American economy? cotton was often reference as ‘king’ because it was viewed as a luxury commodity. The invention of the cotton gin greatly increased the production of cotton harvested by slaves. This resulted in intensely higher profits for planters, which in turn let to a dramatically high demand for labor, aka slaves. Cotton produced in the Unites States became a lot more cheaper than cotton that was produced from somewhere else at the time because of the amount of land that was under cultivation. However, cotton was critical to the American economy because of the amount of profit it created, and opened the gates of trading with Britain and other nations, all while using slave labor to keep down costs and losses,
When the cotton …show more content…
More than two-thirds of the 2.5 million African slaves that arrived in the United States in 1850, worked on cotton plantations (Beckert). The value of slaves also increased along with the rising cotton productivity. To put it in perspective, the value of slaves was equal to about seven times the total value of all currency in circulation in the country and twelve times the value of the entire cotton industry in the United States (Bekert). Because of their value, slaves were used as an insurance to secure loans and as commodities to pay off debt, as well as for trade purposes for other goods. Slaves also became a political capital when the U.S. Constitution gave slaves the status of three-fifths of a person during a constitutional convention. Known as the Three-fifths Compromise, slaves were given the status largely for tax purposes and representation in