1 / 17

King Cotton –

King Cotton –. How was King Cotton important the Texas Economy?. Cotton was called King Cotton , because it was the biggest cash crop Along with cattle , agriculture was very important to the post-civil war economy. II. The Post-War Economy.

tauret
Download Presentation

King Cotton –

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. King Cotton – How was King Cotton important the Texas Economy? • Cotton was called King Cotton, because it was the biggest cashcrop • Along withcattle, agriculture was very important to the post-civil war economy

  2. II. The Post-War Economy • Texans had invested a lot of money into Confederate bondsto help pay for the war. After the war these bonds were worthless. Bond: certificate issued by government or company promising to pay back borrowed sum with interest

  3. Businesses sold goods to the confederacy on credit. • This caused many businesses to fall into financialruin when the war was over and ruined the economy Credit: purchasing goods and services with the promise to repay with interest.

  4. III. Subsistence Farming • Because of the financialhardtimes, families started small farms to get by. • Most farmers ran subsistencefarms. This means they grew just enough food to feed their families and had little to sellor barter. Barter: to trade goods or services for an equal exchange

  5. But to farm you needed landand most Texans didn’t own any. • Because there was no more slavery, big plantation owners needworkersto work their land.

  6. IV. Tenant Farming • The practice of tenantfarming was started. • Tenant farmers rentland from large land owners. • 38% of all farms in 1880 were tenant farms

  7. V. Sharecroppers • Another way to rent land was sharecropping. • Farmers with no moneyto rent land would instead pay for the land with a share of the seasons crop. • Freedman would mostly do this since they had little money.

  8. Tenant farmers who had their own supplieslike mules, plows, seed, feed, and other supplies typically paid the landlord the value of a third of the cotton crop. • Sharecroppers who supplied only their labor typically received half the crops. • It was very tough for a sharecropper to get ahead.

  9. VI. The Exodusters The Exodusters were freedmen from the south who moved to Kansas because the state was rumored to give free land to former slaves. Many of these Exodusters were sharecroppers who were cheated out of their crops and suffered in poverty because they didn't make enough profit and had great debt.

  10. VII. Windmills Windmills pumped water to the surface for settlers and their livestock Almost every farm had a windmill. Windmill became a symbol of civilization on the plains Innovations VIII. Steel Plow • A steel plow was strongerthan previous iron plows • The “Blue Kelly” steel plow was especially useful with the tough soil of theprairies

  11. IX. Improved Cotton Gin New innovations made to the cotton gin made it more efficient The process became more of anindustrial process This created a huge growth in cotton production This created huge growth in sharecropping.

  12. X. Railroads Allowed farmers to move goods fasterand cheaper. Between 1876 and 1885 the railroads rapidly expanded in Texas. Shipping a bale of cotton 400 miles by ox cart took14days and cost $15 Shipping a bale of cotton 400 miles by railroad took1 day and cost $4

  13. Cottonruled the farming industry in the late 1800’s. The railroadsincreased this. Due to high demand in the east no crop made more money.

  14. XI. Governor James Hogg & Railroad • Firstgovernor born in Texas • Elected in 1890for his views on railroad regulation • Railroads and other businesses not respecting Texas law • Established the Texas Railroad Commission in 1891 • Fights unfair practices, establishesfair rates and encourages competition among railroads

  15. XII. Cotton Towns The cotton industry contributed to the growth ofHouston, Galveston, and Waco. These cities were tied to the success of the cotton. A bad crop wasbad for everybody.

  16. The Boll Weevil is an insect that came to Texas from Mexico around 1894. It infested all US cotton-growing areas by the 1920s, devastating the industry and the people working cotton. The Boll Weevil has cost cotton growers billions of dollars since. Many people have tried many different ways to eradicate the pest since, but modern pesticidesseem to be working XIII. Boll Weevil Pesticides: are chemicals used in farming to control bugs or pests

More Related