Chapter 11: The Cotton Revolution
Introduction
In the decades leading up to the Civil War (1830s-1861), the American South experienced significant changes, expanding its wealth and population and becoming integrated into the global economy. This counters the traditional view of the South as isolated and resistant to change. Instead, the South actively adopted new technologies and trade routes while preserving its traditional practices, such as slavery and agricultural production.
Merchants from various regions established trading firms, warehouses, ports, and markets in southern cities like Richmond, Charleston, St. Louis, Mobile, Savannah, and New Orleans. This led to increased populations, cosmopolitanism, education, and wealth. Class systems developed, and ports expanded their shipping routes to include New York City, Liverpool, Manchester, Le Havre, and Lisbon. Slavery became central to this interconnected world.
The Importance of Cotton
In 1785, Peel, Yates & Co. imported the first seven bales of American cotton to Europe. Before this, Europe considered the Caribbean islands as the primary source of cotton. The American South primarily produced rice and tobacco.
By the early 1800s, the American South had established a niche in the European market with long-staple cotton grown on the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Botanists, merchants, and planters then sought to develop cotton seed strains suitable for the southern mainland, particularly in the Louisiana Purchase area acquired in 1803.
In 1833, Rush Nutt of Rodney, Mississippi, developed Petit Gulf, a hybrid cotton strain. This strain was easier to process using Eli Whitney's cotton gin (invented in 1794) and produced more usable cotton. Its emergence coincided with the removal of Native Americans from the Southwest (southern Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and northern Louisiana) due to the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This act allowed the government to survey, divide, and auction off land, enabling farmers to purchase land in the Mississippi River Delta at low prices (as low as 40¢ per acre).
Thousands migrated to the Cotton Belt, with fortunes being made rapidly. Banks offered credit to buy land in the Southwest, and land speculation became common. By the end of the 1830s, Petit Gulf cotton was widely planted, and steam power and water travel facilitated the processing and transportation of cotton to Atlantic ports.
By the end of the 1830s, cotton had become the primary crop of the southwestern states and the entire nation. In 1793, the South produced around five million pounds of cotton. By 1835, the main cotton-growing states (South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana) produced over 500 million pounds of Petit Gulf cotton. This accounted for about 55% of the entire United States export market. In 1860, cotton production reached two billion pounds, making up over 60% of the United States' total exports.
The rise of cotton production supplanted tobacco as the South's main economic commodity. Tobacco cultivation depleted the soil, requiring farmers to constantly seek new lands and methods of production. Cotton, especially Petit Gulf, could be grown quickly on inexpensive land. The cotton gin (1794) and steam power facilitated westward expansion and supported Thomas Jefferson's vision of a republic of small farmers.
The democratization of land ownership through Indian removal, federal auctions, credit, and the lure of immediate profit led to the normalization of slavery. By the 1860s, slavery became central to southern society and culture, ultimately dividing the nation.
Cotton and Slavery
The rise of cotton production strengthened the South's reliance on slavery. The Cotton Kingdom depended on enslaved labor for the production of raw materials across vast areas. Slavery and cotton production were intertwined, defining the Slave South. The economic justifications for slavery gained new impetus from the success of cotton.
Slavery had been present in the South since 1619. By 1790, there were 654,121 enslaved people in the South. This number increased to over 1.1 million by 1810. Following the ban on the international slave trade in 1808, the enslaved population grew by 750,000 in twenty years. The Cotton Revolution in the 1830s-1850s made slavery endemic to the Cotton Belt, which became known as the Black Belt.
The value of enslaved labor increased significantly. Land that cost in 1835 could cost in 1850, and up to by 1860. Enslaved laborers were often used as collateral for loans to buy more land. The cotton market was closely tied to credit offered by southern and northern banks.
Prices for enslaved laborers varied based on factors such as skin color, sex, age, and location. In Virginia in the 1820s, an enslaved woman of childbearing age cost around , an unskilled man above eighteen cost , and children cost between and . By the 1840s and 1850s, prices had nearly doubled. "Prime field hands" averaged by 1850. As the price of cotton increased from 7¢ per pound in 1838 to 11¢ per pound, the average cost of an enslaved male laborer rose from to over .
The connection between cotton and enslaved labor became central to the southern economy and cultural identity. Any change, such as crop diversity, antislavery ideas, or the cost of maintaining enslaved laborers, was resisted. Southern planters and merchants were highly focused on cotton production through slavery.
The Cotton Revolution involved capitalism, panic, stress, and competition. Planters expanded their land and purchased enslaved laborers, often incurring debt. The cotton market was risky and cost-intensive, requiring constant expansion. The decades before the Civil War were characterized by high competition and risk.
A significant aspect of slavery was its inhumanity. Enslaved people experienced suffering, loss, and the denial of their basic rights. They formed communities and resisted through actions like breaking tools and running away.
The problem of slavery in the cotton South involved the fear of rebellion. In 1860, nearly four million enslaved people lived in the South. Thomas Jefferson suggested that freed enslaved people should be colonized elsewhere due to racial prejudices. Many enslavers believed that slavery provided order and legitimacy to the lives of enslaved people, preventing them from becoming violent or aimless.
Productivity increased through heavier workloads, longer hours, and more intense punishments. By the mid-1850s, the expected production of an individual enslaved person in Mississippi had increased significantly. Cotton production "per hand" increased by 600% in Mississippi between 1820 and 1860.
Slavery, profit, and cotton were not limited to the rural South. The Cotton Revolution stimulated the growth of urban centers that facilitated the global market.
The South and the City
The growth of slavery and cotton production was centered in rural areas, but the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s saw significant urban growth in the South. Southern cities served as local ports rather than regional or national commercial hubs. For instance, New Orleans had just over 27,000 people in 1820. Southern life was largely rural, based on farming and enslaved labor. International trade was primarily based in northern ports.
Cotton changed this dynamic. The South had few major ports and limited international trade routes. Internal travel was difficult, especially on the Mississippi River. By the 1820s and 1830s, ships could navigate to New Orleans from as far north as Memphis and St. Louis. In January 1812, the steamboat New Orleans arrived in New Orleans from Pittsburgh, marking a milestone in river-based travel. By the mid-1840s, over 700 steamboats were operating on the rivers. In 1860, New Orleans received 3,500 steamboats, focused on internal trade. These boats transported raw products worth nearly million in trade, with over 80% being cotton.
The adoption of steam power aided the growth of the South. Rivers became essential for commerce, connecting the rural interior with urban ports and global markets. Coastal ports like New Orleans, Charleston, Norfolk, and Richmond attracted merchants and traders. The South experienced a faster rate of urbanization between 1820 and 1860 than the North. Southern cities sustained the trade in cotton, which justified and paid for enslaved labor. The populations of New Orleans, Charleston, Richmond, and St. Louis grew significantly.
The urban centers and rural spaces were interconnected, linking the region to the global market. Southern cities became cosmopolitan, attracting merchants and skilled laborers. Agents represented planters in the cities, connecting with traders and manufacturers.
The growth of southern cities led to the development of a middle class consisting of skilled craftsmen, merchants, traders, and store owners. They adopted new fashion trends and joined benevolent societies, which served to maintain wealth and social prestige within a closed community. Southern cities became headquarters for cotton and enslaved people, funded by European and Northeastern merchants.
Southern Cultures
The South had a diverse range of cultures and situations, with nearly 4 million enslaved people by 1860, amounting to over 45% of the Southern population. Enslaved people developed their own culture, creating kinship networks, trade systems, linguistic codes, religious congregations, and social aid organizations.
Family played a crucial role in the daily lives of enslaved people, providing a sense of community and feeling. Family units helped maintain religious beliefs, traditions, and names. Marriages, especially among members of the same ethnic group or plantation, became vital. By the start of the Civil War, about two-thirds of enslaved people were members of nuclear households, averaging six people.
Marriages were often disrupted by sale, especially with the increase in the internal slave trade. Between one-fifth and one-third of all marriages between enslaved people were broken up through sale or forced migration. Enslavers used marriages to control enslaved laborers and increase production.
Enslaved women were vulnerable to the shifts of fate attached to slavery. They often did the same work as men but also faced sexual violence, unwanted pregnancies, and constant childrearing. Rape was a form of terrorism used to promote obedience and power relations. Enslaved women had no recourse, and society largely ignored this violence. Pregnancies resulting from rape did not always lead to lighter workloads. Acts of resistance were seen as crimes. For example, Celia, a 19-year-old enslaved woman, was executed for killing her enslaver after repeated rape.
Southern society deferred to white men, who dictated laws and social norms. White and free women of color had no direct representation in law. Society expected women to support their husbands and children at home. Marriage transferred a woman's property to her husband. Life in the cotton South defied the standard narrative of the Old South. Enslaved people formed bonds and maintained traditions, creating freedom where it seemed impossible. Culture thrived among the enslaved, women, and the impoverished, with religion, honor, and pride transcending material goods.
Religion and Honor in the Slave South
Economic growth, violence, and exploitation reinforced evangelical Christianity in the South. The Second Great Awakening established the region's religious culture, led by Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians. By the Civil War, most southerners belonged to either the Baptist or Methodist faith. These churches shifted from briefly attacking slavery to becoming vocal defenders of it.
Southern ministers claimed that God had selected Africans for bondage. They considered evangelizing enslaved people to be one of their greatest callings. Protestantism spread rapidly among African Americans, leading to biracial congregations and independent Black churches. Relationships between missionaries and Native Americans also transformed, with missionaries representing themselves as pillars of white authority. They worked to prevent Indigenous children from speaking their native languages, insisting on English for Christian understanding.
Enslaved people received Christian instruction from white preachers or enslavers, whose messages stressed subservience. Anti-literacy laws prevented enslaved people from reading the Bible. Many enslaved people created their own versions of Christianity, incorporating African religions. Nat Turner, the leader of a major slave rebellion, drew inspiration from religion, leading a deadly revolt in 1831. This led to increased anti-literacy laws and white supervision of Black churches.
Evangelical religion shaped understandings of southern manhood and womanhood. Southern manhood was shaped by an obsession with masculine honor, while southern womanhood centered on sexual virtue or purity. Honor prioritized public recognition of white masculine claims to reputation and authority. Southern men developed a code to ritualize their interactions and minimize conflict. The formal duel exemplified this code.
Violence among the lower classes involved fistfights and shootouts. The legal system rarely prosecuted upper-class southerners, while lower-class southerners were found guilty more often. Southern women cultivated femininity tied to the domestic sphere. They were expected to manage households and offer a calming, moralizing influence on husbands and children. Female virtue was understood as sexual purity, and southern culture centered on protecting white women's sexual purity. Black men were presented as a sexual threat.
Conclusion
Cotton created the antebellum South, opening a closed society to a larger, global community. The South benefited from the Cotton Revolution and urban growth, but slavery and the internal slave trade persisted and even grew. Questions remained about the future of slavery.