The Burden of Cotton [Cover]
Name/Title
The Burden of Cotton [Cover]Description
Cover with cachet depicting a man hunched over by the heavy burden of cotton on his back. He says, "Oh dear! Dear! This is a much heavier burden than I had ever anticipated."Context
"King Cotton" At the onset of the Civil War, it was the policy of the newly-created Confederate States of America to withhold cotton from European markets in the hopes of inducing either foreign intervention or, at the very least, encouraging recognition of the fledgling Confederacy. It was believed that cotton was “king” and that foreign markets required the South’s most valuable staple crop in order to support European economies. As a result, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet adopted a policy that came to be known as King Cotton Diplomacy. This policy hinged on the farce that early in the war the Union blockade denied Confederate shipment of cotton to Europe and aimed at provoking European (most notably the British) intervention. In 1849 a census of the cotton production of the state reported 58,073 bales (500 pounds each). In 1852 Texas was in eighth place among the top ten cotton-producing states of the nation. The 1859 census credited Texas with a yield of 431,645 bales.Category
Secession! Texas Makes Its Choice, Cotton Culture
1861: Opening Act, Civil War, Building The Lone Star Identity, Bullock Museum, Agriculture, Being Texas