Growth of Slavery, King Cotton and the Mississippi case study

What was the percentage of cotton export in relation to the total US exports in 1800

7%

What was the percentage of cotton export in relation to the total US exports in 1820

32%

What was the percentage of cotton export in relation to the total US exports in 1840

52%

What was the percentage of cotton export in relation to the total US exports in 1860

58%

What was King Cotton

The phrase that encapsulated the immense economic and political power of cotton production in the Southern United States

What is the planter class

The planter class refers to the wealthy and influential landowners in the South, particularly in the antebellum period, who owned large plantations

What is Peculiar Institution

Used in the 19th century to refer to the system of slavery in the southern states of the US

How many bales of cotton was produced in 1790

9000

How many bales of cotton was produced by the 1830s

2 million

1 in how many families owned slaves in 1850

1 in 3

1 in how many families owned slaves in 1860

1 in 4 (Slaves have increased in price due to more pressure on pro slavery)

What was the highest price for a slave in 1852 in an auction

$1,275

What percentage of owners had less than 5 slaves

50%

What percentage of slaves worked on plantations with more than 20 slaves on it

55%

What percentage of slaves picked cotton

55%

When did Mississippi become a state

1817

What was the value of the cotton industry in Mississippi in 1800 and what did it increase to in 1859?

$0 in 1800 and it increased to $535 million in 1859