Sunday, April 26, 2009

How did the rise of the cotton cultivation affect the economy and the people of the Old South?

How did the rise of the cotton cultivation affect the economy and the people of the Old South in atleast three major effects? All question are appreciated. Thanks!

How did the rise of the cotton cultivation affect the economy and the people of the Old South?
The rising importance of cotton cultivation in the South had several interrelated effects:





Increasing European demand for cotton, much like tobacco cultivation in Jamestown, led to a distinct focus on its production as a cash crop. As prices rose, Southern planters attempted to augment their harvests--and their profits--by expanding their estates and investing large amounts of capital in slave labor. Vast increases in slave imports discouraged landowner-wage laborer relationships, which stunted the growth of a middle class. Additionally, the focus on agriculture as a primary means of profit among the upper class hindered the development of significant manufacturing centers in the South, a factor that contributed significantly to the supply difficulties faced by the Confederacy throughout the Civil War.

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