"Cotton and the Civil War" Topic

"On the eve of the American Civil War in the mid-1800s cotton was America's leading export, and raw cotton was essential for the economy of Europe. The cotton industry was one of the world's largest industries, and most of the world supply of cotton came from the American South. This industry, fueled by the labor of slaves on plantations, generated huge sums of money for the United States and influenced the nation's ability to borrow money in a global market. In many respects, cotton's financial and political influence in the 19th century can be compared to that of the oil industry in the early 21st century.

Mississippi, the nation's largest cotton-producing state, was economically and politically dependent on cotton, as was the entire South. Indeed, it was the South's economic backbone. When the southern states seceded from the United States to form the Confederate States of America in 1861, they used cotton to provide revenue for its government, arms for its military, and the economic power for a diplomatic strategy for the fledgling Confederate nation…"
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Amicalement
Armand

I read a what if book about the civil war and one of the ideas was that the south could have confiscated the cotton at the beginning of the war (before the blockade was enforced), shipped it to Europe and warehoused it. Then sell the warehoused cotton to support the war effort.

What did happen was that many of the blockade runners brought in consumer goods that were in short supply in the south and sold for high prices (in cotton not confederate money). The southern planters did not switch over to food production and caused food shortages at critical times during the war.

Thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand

The South (courtesy of "King Cotton") was the economic backbone of the United States at that time. Many people mistakenly assume that the North was the wealthiest region of the USA in 1860; it was in fact the South.

B

During the war some if not most of the cotton farmland was shifted to food production. Higher value and easier to sale than cotton. No worries about the blockades. Most yeoman farms were producing food rather than cotton. So that made reaching a majority of production to food being easier.