Austin Brinkerhoff

Economics
December 1, 2014

Cotton Remains King

Most people attribute financial and economic success through exports in
America through gold, tobacco, or sugar, but few have come close to the revenue
that another resource has brought our country in exported growth and trade. Cotton
was, and has become, one of the most wanted and used resource in multiple
countries, especially the United States. In fact, cotton was the first mass consumer
and luxury commodity in the United States and gave the country a huge source of
economic growth within the boarders, as well as, in other countries. Within the
increased technology that went into growing the industry and the increased need
for human labor, there has been progress from both that has evolved the process
and quality of cotton to what it is today. The need of cotton was one of the biggest
events in American history, fueling expansion and black slave trade. Although, both
tragic and barbaric situations occurred due to the progression, there have been
many positive and essential benefits it has brought our country.
The cotton industry started in India, and as Europe took over they became
intrigued by the multiple uses and were used by only the wealthiest of people. In
Manchester, over 2,000 orphan children were forced into sweatshops to loom and
produce clothing and other goods, and soon the city in England became known as
the dirty city. The production migrated overseas with the intent of raising

economic export, to Massachusetts and the Deep South, where the soil was able to
sustain production for mass amounts of cotton. The cotton production between
1810 and 1830 increased from 178,000 bales of cotton to 732,000 bales produced
per year (page178). Output that was needed increased by 11 fold, and by 1860, 3.8
million bales of cotton were being produced annually (page 177). The amount of
labor and time that was needed to produce large amounts of cotton became one of
the biggest game changers in American history. Each basket of cotton took 18
months to separate the seeds out of the cotton, and the demand was increasing,
which meant that the need for labor was growing as well, especially in New York.
Soon, the amount of slaves that were being shipped, sold and bought, were
increasing drastically to farm the cotton. The productions of cotton made the slave
trade an increased production of their own, and a financial business.
The need for slaves in order to produce the needed amount of cotton
amplified, and the value of slaves grew as well. The value estimated 48 times more
than the federal government expenditure, 3 times more than investment banks, 7
times more valuable than the countries currency, 3 times the life stock population
and 12 times more than the cotton crop in the United States. The main reason for
this was the invention of the Cotton Gin, created by Eli Whitney in 1793, which
increased the separation of seeds and quality of the final production of cotton. The
amount of time it took to separate decreased drastically and became more reliable
and efficient. The amount of slaves needed to run the gin was needed greatly. The
estimated slave population in the United States was more than doubled, making the
amount of cotton per slave go up by a 4.6 factor. Nearly 90% of all the slaves in

America labored on cotton farms, and around 86% of all U.S. cotton was grown on
farms (page 178).
The slave trade has been one of the biggest influences in American history,
not only were people treated as property, but were forced into manual labor. Blackslave-grown cotton was the reason for the American Civil War, according to Henry
Gates, and was the reason cotton was and still remained, king. New England had
large ties to the south for their cotton production, and around 10.5 million
inhabitants of England were in involved in cotton textiles. Due to the large reliance
on cotton, the south assumed that New England would stand behind them on the
verge of the Civil War, but they had been mistaken. Astonishingly, New England took
the front of anti-slavery. Gates said, it was something of a miracle that slavery
was finally abolished in this country at all. This is true, based on how much New
England and Great Britain depended on the exportation of cotton from the United
States, and how much the U.S. depended on slaves to labor the cotton. Fortunately,
the social tragedy that appeared with this cotton bomb was not supported by all,
and caused one of the most powerful wars in our country. Although, the straining
work on workforces was a dark moment during the progression, the cotton
production hade made some powerful growth and increases, and positive outcomes
for America.
Cotton was the leading export in our country from 1803-1937, and furthered
expansion into the southwest territory of the states and offered us trade between
Europe (Gates). In fact, Britain depended on the south for nearly 75% to 80% of all
their raw materials, and by 1860, export earnings from cotton were around $192

billion (page 176-177). When the states began to use more than what was being
produced, people started using interest on resources to pay debts off in time. These
exports were essential in paying off interests and debt inside the country, with New
England having 52% of the manufacturing establishments overseas, gave the U.S.
perfect trade (page 176). Along with the financial benefits, cotton is a hollow fiber,
and became the go-to material because of its ability to be twisted and manipulated,
especially in clothing. It was more effective than wool, and created a language of
new essentials in the clothing industries, such as khakis and pajamas.
Today, there are nearly 5,000 to 10,0000 textile mills in about 120 countries,
worth about 130 billion pounds of cotton. Cotton has become an essential source of
material everywhere and is used in almost anything and everything. It has been
used modernly, such as in plastic, film, safety glass, and explosives, and because of
its hollow inside, it has been able to be cleaned, thinned, twisted and colored into
new expansions, such as Denim Jeans or yarn. Jeans have become one of the leading
clothing productions in the U.S., and have been able to be modified and dyed to give
its iconic look. Due to its flexible and strong components, cotton has been able to be
fabricated into new technology such as stain and wrinkle free fibers in clothing,
making it a multi-functional tool.
Other than clothing, cotton has been able to provide us with numerous uses,
not just for the fabric, but for the cottonseed as well. The cottonseed is used in
butterfat for cattle, as well as food for us such as, potato chips and other snack foods
mainly in factories. Cotton has been used into 25% of the worlds insecticides
making it successful in growing crops. The textile industries are only one of many

jobs that have accompanied the growth of cotton in America and in other countries.
It has also provided jobs in advertising, modeling and propaganda that have
continued to educate the public of its value in the United States and around the
world.
Bringing cotton into our economic production has been financially successful.
Even to this day, it is one of the highest materials being used across the world, using
machines instead of people, each replacing around 50 laborers and hauling two
times the volume, and being four times as fast. Millions of bales are exported every
year to different countries, and remains one of our primary sources of financial
support. Unfortunately, it also has become one of the primary reasons of the biggest
historical time periods of the country, the African slave trade. The forced labor of
slaves has become a huge period where people with no rights, and considered to
have no worth or human value, began to come together, breaking into the historical
Civil War. Without the production of cotton, the economy of the country would be
nowhere near what it is today, nor would the technology be around to make
different clothing and materials in large quantities. Cotton has brought possibilities
and growth through expansion, and although it brought the tragic slave trade, it also
pursued the Civil War, giving rights to all immigrants and slaves. Without it, our
country would never be where it is at and grown into the well-established territory
it is. Still to this day, I think it would be save to say that cotton was indeed king, and
still remains high royalty for our country.

Works Cited
Cain, L. P., & Hughes, J. (2011). American Economic History (8th ed., pp. 176-178).
Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.
Gates Jr., H. L. (n.d.). Why Was Cotton 'King'?
Cotton, by the History Channel (Video)