Old King Cotton

In the early history of the southern United States cotton ruled supreme as the most important single crop in the South’s agricultural economy. Even though the South’s economy changed through the years and cotton is no longer King, it is still the South’s Crown Prince.

Cotton is a soft fiber that is usually spun into thread that is used to make a soft, breathable textile. The plant grows best in tropical and sub-tropical areas, and the southern states of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas offered ideal conditions. Cotton is also grown in other countries such as Mexico, Egypt, India, and South America.

Georgia was the first American colony to produce cotton commercially, and it was planted first near Savannah in 1734. This early cotton was a long, strong fiber brought in from the West Indies, and it thrived near the coast with its ample water supply and long growing season. In the 1830’s, as settlers moved inward and opened up rich, flat, productive farmland, the production of cotton spread also.

The cotton market grew throughout the 19th century. New England industrialists recognized the potential and began developing textile mills. Cotton growing became immensely profitable for thousands of Southern farmers. Many of these farmers were actually lawyers, doctors, insurance men, and other professionals living in large antebellum mansions in cities, such as Atlanta, Savannah, Birmingham, and Montgomery, while owning large cotton plantations in the country.

After the American Civil War and Reconstruction, economists urged Southern farmers to diversify their crops, but no one would listen. Cotton was too valuable! As a result Georgia’s cotton economy peaked just before the onset of World War I. Four years later the good times were over. The South’s economy was destroyed-not by a falling stock market or a war, but by a bug. The boll weevil was cotton’s greatest enemy, and it reduced Georgia’s cotton yields by 29 % from 1918 to 1924. The other cotton-producing states suffered the same fate. Also, worldwide cotton prices began to fall with the increase in synthetic fibers.

In the 21st century, thanks to the eradication of the boll weevil, the increase in mechanization, federal funded programs, and a move to corporate farming, cotton has returned-but not as King. (Hopefully we have learned our lesson never again to base our entire economy on one product.) Our consumption of domestic cotton is increasing along with exports of yarns, denim, and other cotton products.

The Cotton Plant

The entire cotton plant can be used. After harvest the seeds are removed from the fiber; then the seeds are crushed to separate the oil, meal, and hulls. The oil is used in shortening, margarine, cooking oil, and salad dressing. Some parts of the seed are even used as a high-protein concentrate for food products. The meal and hulls are used to make food for livestock, poultry, and fish. The cotton lint, or fiber, is used in textile products, ice cream, paper currency, fishnets, coffee filters, photography papers, and plastics, to name a few. The stalks and leaves are plowed under to enrich the soil.