Where were cotton plantations in the United States?
By 1865 cotton plantations dominated the landscape both geographically and socially from the lowlands east of the Appalachians, south of the Ohio River, and all the way west to Texas.
How were cotton plantations different from plantations for slaves?
Owners of large plantations invested in technologies that improved harvesting and finishing of cotton. Masters and drivers allocated tasks based on experience, age, and gender. Unlike slaves on farms, blacks slaving on plantations were assigned specialized tasks that included masonry, blacksmithing, and woodworking.
How much weight did cotton plantations produce per day?
Other plantation owners recorded averages of 300 pounds per day (Philips 1952, p. 210). Only rain provided moments of respite for the laborers in the field. Cotton plantations exhibited features of industrial production and agricultural labor.
Why did plantation owners encourage farmers to grow cotton and corn?
During the crises of war, debt, and slave revolt in the 1730s, plantation owners in South Carolina and Georgia encouraged newly arriving small farmers to grow cotton and corn. The plantation elites, eager to secure the favor of their new neighbors, knew that arrangements with inland farmers might defray some of their costs.
Are there any plantations still standing?
The Slave Village at Evergreen Plantation While thousands upon thousands of these buildings once existed across the American South, they are now exceedingly rare. This is the only place where they exist unchanged.
Are there still working plantations in the South?
Evergreen Plantation It is located between New Orleans and Baton Rouge in Louisina. It is a privately owned working sugar cane plantation where people currently live and work.
Where are largest cotton plantations?
The most intensive cotton production occurred in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi, together with parts of Florida, Louisiana and Texas. High productivity depended on the plantation system and slavery combined with fertile soils and a favorable climate.
Where is cotton plantation?
There are three cotton-growing areas in India – (1) parts of Punjab, Haryana and northern Rajasthan in the north-west, (2) Gujarat and Maharashtra in the west and (3) plateaus of Telengana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in the south. Leading producers of this crop are Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana.
What states still have plantations?
All of the Southern states had plantations, including what Matrana refers to as the Upper South: Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee. Many of the plantations you can visit today are located in the Deep South, including South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.
What was the worst plantation in the United States?
Nottoway Plantation, also known as Nottoway Plantation House is located near White Castle, Louisiana, United States.
Which US states grew cotton?
Cotton is planted from March to June and harvested from August to December. Among the U.S. States, Texas is the largest producer, contributing approximately 40 percent of U.S. cotton production in recent years. Other top cotton producers include Georgia, Mississippi, and Arkansas.
In what states is the best cotton growing soil found?
Texas is the leading cotton-producing state followed by California, Mississippi, Georgia, and Arkansas.
What state is known for cotton?
state of TexasAccording to 2014 estimates, the federal state of Texas, the nation's top cotton producing state, accounted for more than 42 percent of the country's total cotton production, followed by Georgia with roughly 18 percent. More than 1.8 billion U.S. dollars' worth of cotton was produced in Texas in 2019.
Do people still pick cotton?
Since hand labor is no longer used in the U.S. to harvest cotton, the crop is harvested by machines, either a picker or a stripper. Cotton picking machines have spindles that pick (twist) the seed cotton from the burrs that are attached to plants' stems.
Can you eat cotton?
Cotton is used in a variety of ways, but the protein-heavy plant has never been safe to eat. That's because it contains the chemical gossypol, which protects cotton from insects but is toxic to humans.
Who is the largest producer of cotton in the world?
IndiaIndia is the largest producer of cotton in the world accounting for about 22% of the world cotton production.
Where is cotton grown?
Cotton was grown in Mexican California. It became a major crop in the 1930s. California’s cotton is mostly grown in seven counties within the San Joaquin Valley, though Imperial Valley and Palo Verde Valley also have acres planted. In the 1990s cotton was also planted in the Sacramento Valley. California is the largest producer of Pima cotton in the United States. The California cotton industry provides more than 20,000 jobs in the state and generates revenues in excess of $3.5 billion annually.
When was black cotton planted?
Black cotton workers, 1886. Main article: King Cotton. Cotton has been planted and cultured in the United States since before the American Revolution , especially in South Carolina. It expanded to the west very dramatically after 1800—all the way to Texas—thanks to the cotton gin.
How much cotton was produced in Missouri in 2017?
Missouri upland cotton production in 2017 was valued at $261,348,000 with 750,000,480 pound bales produced in that year. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, upland cotton in Missouri was valued at 0.751 $ / pound in 2017.
What was the impact of the cotton industry in the 1920s?
The cotton industry in the United States hit a crisis in the early 1920s. Cotton and tobacco prices collapsed in 1920 following overproduction and the boll weevil pest wiped out the sea island cotton crop in 1921. Annual production slumped from 1,365,000 bales in the 1910s to 801,000 in the 1920s.
How many bales of cotton were produced in 2012?
The final estimate of U.S. cotton production in 2012 was 17.31 million bales, with the corresponding figures for China and India being 35 million and 26.5 million bales, respectively. Early cotton farming in the United States is synonymous with the history of slavery in the United States. By the late 1920s around two-thirds ...
What was the major area of racial tension in the history of cotton farming?
Southern black cotton farmers faced discrimination and strikes often broke out by black cotton farmers.
What were the problems faced by black cotton farmers in the 1920s?
Southern black cotton farmers faced discrimination and strikes often broke out by black cotton farmers. Although the industry was badly affected by falling prices and pests in the early 1920s, the mechanization of agriculture created additional pressures on those working in the industry.
What are plantations and/or plantation houses?
This is a list of plantations and/or plantation houses in the United States of America that are national memorials, National Historic Landmarks, listed on the National Register of Historic Places or other heritage register, or are otherwise significant for their history, association with significant events or people, or their architecture and design.
How many plantations were there in Saint John?
As of 1728, there were 91 plantation lots defined on Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands. As of 1800, maps showed 68 plantations outside the villages of Cruz and Coral Bay. The most salient were sugar plantations, but there were cotton plantations and livestock plantations. Ruins of the Annaberg sugar plantation .
What is the documentary about slavery?
A documentary on modern day slavery. (FinalCall.com) - Mae Louise Miller grew up in chattel slavery working from plantation to plantation for White owners in the South where her family picked cotton and she was beaten and raped repeatedly from the age of five. Her story is typical of the horrid accounts of slave life in America during ...
Is Mrs. Miller still a slave?
Ms. Miller was enslaved until 1961 and there is evidence of slavery today in different parts of America's South. Yes, slavery still exists in 2010 in Mississippi and Louisiana, ...
Is slavery still alive in Mississippi?
Yes, slavery still exists in 2010 in Mississippi and Louisiana, says Timothy Arden Smith, who captured the story in a soon to be released documentary called “ The Cotton Pickin' Truth …. Still on the Plantation ,” which will premiere Sept. 23 at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History in Detroit.
Did slavery end with the Emancipation Proclamation?
According to the Smiths, there are many who know that slavery didn't end with the Emancipation Proclamation nearly 150 years ago.
How many acres are there in Due West Plantation?
Due West Plantation, a plantation that consists of 12,000- acres, got its name many years ago. During the 1850s, the farm was part of the Twilight Plantation. Mike Sturdivant, the owner of the plantation, was a highly successful Delta planter and millionaire businessman.
When were the brick houses built on the Due West Plantation?
The old wooden shacks were demolished, and small-framed brick homes were built in the 70s. Most people on Due West Plantation have other jobs off the plantation but still call the plantation home. Kirk Manuel asked Henry, a man who also lives on Due West, to tell him something about Emmitt Till’s story.
How many generations did Donald Jeffery live on Ballground Plantation?
The Jeffery’s lived on this plantation for five generations. Donald Jeffery, who was born on Ballground Plantation, never knew any other place to call home. He and the present owner say they are like brothers. Donald still helps on the plantation but works somewhere else.
Who is the detective on the Mississippi plantations?
Investigation Reveals That Black Families Are Still Living on the Plantations in Mississippi. New Orleans, LA — Dr. Antoinette Harrell, known as the “Slavery Detective of the South,” is on a mission to interview and document the oral histories of people who still live on plantations to this very day. Deangelo Manuel and Tyra Climmons, two interns ...
Overview
History
Native Americans were observed growing cotton by the Coronado expedition in the early 1540s. This also ushered the slave trade to meet the growing need for labour to grow cotton , a labor-intensive crop and a cash crop of immense economic worth . As the chief crop , the southern part of United States prospered thanks to its slavery-dependent economy. Over the centuries, cotto…
Exports
The United States is the world's top exporter of cotton. Four out of the top five importers of U.S.-produced cotton are in North America; the principal destination is Honduras, with about 33% of the total, although this has been in decline slightly over recent years. The next most important importer is Mexico, with about 18%, a figure which has been broadly stable, and then the Dominican Republic, although exports have declined as a proportion of the total in recent years. …
Cotton production by state
In 2020, producers in South Carolina harvested 179,000 acres of upland cotton.
Texas produces more cotton than any other state in the United States. With eight production regions around Texas, and only four geographic regions, it is the state's leading cash crop. Texas produces approximately 25% of the country's cotton crop on more than 6 million acres, the equivalent of over 9,00…
See also
• Black Belt in the American South
• Cotton Research and Promotion Act
• King Cotton
• Slavery in the United States
Footnotes
1. ^ "Overview". United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. March 5, 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
2. ^ United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment (1987). The U.S. textile and apparel industry : a revolution in progress : special report. DIANE Publishing. pp. 38–. ISBN 978-1-4289-2294-5.
Further reading
• Baker, Bruce E., and Barbara Hahn. The Cotton Kings: Capitalism and Corruption in Turn-of-the-Century New York and New Orleans (Oxford University Press, 2016).
• Beckert, Sven (2014). Empire of Cotton: A Global History. Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-375-71396-5.
• Beckert, Sven. "Emancipation and empire: Reconstructing the worldwide web of cotton production in the age of the American Civil War." American Historical Review 109.5 (2004): 1405-1438 online.
External links
• U.S. cotton production by state
• Newspaper clippings about Cotton production in the United States in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW