Cotton Sales and Production in the era of the American civil war

United states to Egypt and India

Cotton Sales and Production in the Era of the American Civil War United States South to India and Egypt Prior to the American Civil War, which began in 1861, the United States was the number one leading cotton producer for Great Britain. In fact, the United States accounted for 77% of the 800 million pounds of cotton consumed in Britain. Most of the cotton was being exported from the Southern part of America. Generally speaking, it was mostly being picked by African American slaves. When the civil war began production and exports of cotton slowed down dramatically. Originally, the confederates from the south banned all exports in hope to force British diplomatic recognition. Soon after they realized that this strategy was not helping. When they tried to remove it, the Union established a blockade that allowed for no exports from the south. Britain was now receiving no cotton from America. They knew that they had to take action fast in finding a new source. Just by 1862, Americas cotton exports dropped by 96%. Britain went in to Egypt and India at this point. Essentially, Britain helped to completely renovate these countries so that they could become successful in the cotton business. Britain was so affected by the civil war back in America. Once the countries were gaining success, Britain helped to advance the business even more. Modernization came around and in a few years railroads were put up and flowing all throughout Egypt and India. Transportation times were divided. By the end of the Civil War, the United States were processing their own cotton in their own country. The country no longer needed to be dependent on Britain. This was OK however, because the rates of British intake of cotton from Egypt and India were very high. During this time period there were tight links between capitalism, cotton and slavery.

In this picture U.S slaves in southern states are found picking cotton. They do not get paid for this physical labor. After they picked the raw cotton it was transported to other European countries around the world to be manufactured. The U.S was one of the most important countries in the worldwide web of cotton. In the late1850s, the US accounted for 60-92% of the cotton manufactured in Britain, France, German Zollverein, and Russia.

In 1861, in the United States a civil war broke out. In the Norths efforts to defeat the South, they established the Union blockade. The Union blockade blocked off all southern ports. This resulted in a dramatic drop in exports of Cotton from the South to Europe, in particular to Britain.

In this political cartoon, the two characters on the right symbolize the United States fighting with itself. The middle man, who stands for Britain, looks displeased with the U.S and eventually turns to the Indian Cotton Depot. Britain was not receiving nearly enough cotton from the U.S, who had just a year before supplied 77% of their cotton. As world trade relations were collapsing, Britain had to act quickly to ensure that their economy would not collapse due to the war in the U.S.

When Great Britain realized that they needed to seek elsewhere to get cotton, they chose India. India did not have the necessary technology for manufacturing cotton, and also were not currently growing cotton. Because of this, the British invested large sums of money to put in the needed factors to produce the right sum of cotton. This included building factories, mills and also planting seeds and improving soils.

One large difference in the cotton picking in the United States to the cotton picking in Egypt and India was the workers. In the United States most of the cotton was picked by unpaid slaves. The slaves were treated poorly. In Egypt and India work was done by sharecroppers, and peasants. These workers did not get paid a significant dollar value but they were at least making a profit.

The English Ladies Free Grown Cotton movement was established in the mid 1800s. The group boycotted using, wearing, or involving themselves with cotton that was picked by slaves. They did not want to make it seem like they approved of the slavery. They used only cotton that was picked and manufactured by paid workers.

As Egypt and India were becoming more and more important and successful in the cotton industry, Britain decided to help them advance the business. Britain's economy was dependent on the cotton industry so they poured money into it to ensure its success. Britain helped to install railroads throughout the countries so that cotton could be transported easier.

This image shows Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee agreeing to end the civil war. 1865, the Civil War came to an end and slavery was finally abolished. As we know, slaves were so important to the economy. Since they no longer them to support their agricultural needs, the United States found themselves scrambling for a solution to their crashed economic system.

This image shows an American girl working in a cotton mill. After the U.S. Civil War, America could no longer depend on Great Britain to manufacture the cotton they produce because India and Egypt were already supplying them with all the cotton that they needed. For this reason, the U.S. decided to build their own cotton mills and factories in order to manufacture from within. On its own, the United States became the second most important cotton manufacturer in the world.

This table shows the cotton exports from India from the 1850s to the beginning of the 1900s. As India is producing this much cotton, Great Britain is receiving a large percentage of it. By the late 1850s, the U.S was only providing around 800 million pounds of cotton. The switch from the U.S to India ended up balancing out for Britains overall cotton income.

Pictography
American Cotton Mills. Photograph. Accessed on 12 June 2013. http://teachingamericanhistorymd.net/000001/000000/000025/html/t25.ht ml Cotton Exports from India: Average Annual Exports by Decade, in Million Pounds. Chart. in Sven Beckert, Emancipation and Empire: Reconstructing the Worldwide Web of Cotton Production in the Age of the American Civil War. American Historical Review, 2004. David McElroy. Moral priorities: If we free slaves, who will pick cotton in the fields? Photograph. Accessed on 13 June 2013. http://www.davidmcelroy.org/ Fast Play Strategic Civil War Blockade. Map. Accessed on 13 June 2013. http://www.juniorgeneral.org/civil%20war/anaconda/anaconda.html Free-Grown Cotton. Photograph. Accessed on 12 June 2013. http://revealinghistories.org.uk/who-resisted-and-campaigned-forabolition/articles/towards-change-free-grown-cotton.html Let Us Have Peace. Painting. Accessed on 13 June 2013. http://nobility.org/2012/10/15/social-revolution-after-civil-war/ Modified Cotton in India Photographing. Accessed on 12 June 2013. http://angelasancartier.net/cotton Over the Shop. Political Cartoon. November 16, 1861. in Sven Beckert, Emancipation and Empire: Reconstructing the Worldwide Web of Cotton Production in the Age of the American Civil War. American Historical Review, 2004. William Aikan. Cotton Picking. Painting. Accessed on 10 June 2013. http://factsanddetails.com/media/2/20120529Cotton_Pickers_oil_painting_on_panel_by_William_Aiken_Walker.jpg