How Did The Plantation Crops Affect The Economy

Plantation crops and the Southern Economy The South’s economy wasn't as strong as some people would have thought. Even with the money that the South made from their cash crops, there were 3 reasons why the economy was weak (Economy of the South 36). First, southern farmers mainly relied on tobacco, cotton, and sugar. These were also known as cash crops (Economy of the South 36). Second, since farmers didn’t pay slaves for their labor, their profits turn out to be falsely high (Economy of the South 36). Finally, because farmers were making so much money from growing cotton, they did not see the need to have manufacturing and industry. (Economy of the South 36). The two major cash crops, cotton and sugar, had an affect on the Civil War and the South’s economy. …show more content…
The cotton gin was a tool that sped the process of collecting cotton. The gin separated the cotton fibers from the seed (Cotton 65). Since the invention was made, it allowed a person to collect up to 50 gallons of cleaned cotton (Cotton 65). Since production rose greatly from growing cotton, the number of slaves increased significantly (Cotton 65). Farmers saw that growing cotton was such a good opportunity that they wanted all of their slaves to work on the cotton fields instead of the other plantation fields (Economy of the South 37). This created huge tensions between the North and South (Cotton 66). Since the North deeply disapproved of slavery, they were not happy to hear about the rise in slavery in the South (Cotton 66). Later on, cotton farming expanded in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. (Economy of the South 36). Besides cotton, farmers also grew an important cash crop which was known to be