Cotton Industry Changes

In 1793, an (American) inventor invented the cotton gin. A devise which helped to increase the capacity of cotton production, and for close to seventy years America was the global King Cotton. Berkert article is a refreshing examination of how the industry changes drastically at the onset of the American Civil War. The American cotton system was centered and controlled by the white plantation owners of the South, and once the US entered into a civil war the cotton industry was forever changed. Berkert states, “Understandably, historians have viewed the American Civil War primarily as a turning point in the history of the American nation (Berkert 1406). Historians and scholars perhaps may have minimized the global links of the cotton industry …show more content…
Britain took the lead and other nations followed. Argentinean, Chinese, and Central Asian cotton now increasingly found its of way into the world market (Berkert 1414). And because of their efforts, Indian, Egyptian and Brazilian cotton has become a major presence on western markets (Berkert 1422). Cotton growing in these new global markets did it without slave labor. However, the journey to working in this industry did not favor all with large successes. The American south failure to adequately provide cotton for the world markets, also made countries consider new business options moving forward in the future. The American Civil War has convinced statesmen and cotton manufacturers everything that depending on a single supplier of cotton…was a dangerous to the economy well-being of their factories and their rival nation-states. The article is also supported by strategical data and the impact of the shift of the production of cotton in new markets. The failure of the cotton industry the American Civil War, increased the wealth, technology, business and new market opportunities for other