Cotton played a role in the outbreak of the Civil War and remained a political and economic factor throughout the war
This photo taken in 1867 depicts a group of six African American men and women, possibly former slaves, posed picking cotton in a field. Cotton was the United States’ top export at the time of the Civil War. (Courtesy Library of Congress)
GREENWICH, N.Y. — The Civil War is one of the defining events of American history. Cotton and the production of this lucrative crop was a contributing factor to the outbreak of the war. Once the war started the Confederacy believed cotton was one of their strongest assets and attempted to use it as a means of diplomacy to receive recognition from foreign nations.
Cotton cultivation in the United States South started in the 1780s. Cotton requires heavy soils, a long, warm growing season, and abundant rainfall to grow. This made the American South an ideal location for cotton production. Cotton is a fluffy fiber that forms inside the boll or seed-pod of the Gossypium plant. Cotton production required the seeds to be removed before the fibers could be used making cotton a labor-intensive endeavor. This labor was found in plantation-based slavery.
Throughout the first half of the 1800s cotton production steadily grew for a few reasons. One reason was the invention of the cotton gin in 1793 by Eli Whitney. The cotton gin made the process of removing the seeds from the fiber faster which allowed planters to grow more acres of cotton. While the cotton gin intended to make cotton producing less labor intensive, it increased the prevalence of slavery since planters could grow more acreage. The Industrial Revolution also took off in the United States and Europe at this time. With it came the textile industries which required cotton to produce their goods and the American South supplied a large portion of this need.
At the time of the Civil War, it is estimated that two-thirds of the world’s cotton came from the American South. Much of the cotton grown in the South was sent to Northern states or to Europe for textile manufacturing. Just prior to the war cotton was the United States’ top export totaling around $192 million.
The importance of cotton was known by leaders and was certainly played up by Southern politicians. In an address to the Senate in 1858 South Carolina senator James Hammond summed up how many southerners viewed the crop and encroachments on its production saying, “Without firing a gun, without drawing a sword, should they make war on us we could bring the whole world to our feet […] What would happen if no cotton was furnished for three years? I will not stop to depict what everyone can imagine, but this is certain: England would topple headlong and carry the whole civilized world with her, save the South. No, you dare not make war on cotton. No power on earth dares to make war upon it. Cotton is king.”
As cotton production expanded further westward the use of and dependence on slave labor became more entrenched in Southern society. As the South remained an agrarian society its economic link to slavery was deemed as necessary. Meanwhile, the industry-based economy in the North was not dependent on slavery. There were also cultural differences that made antislavery sentiments stronger in the North. Slavery was outlawed in most Northern states by the start of the war. These differences between the North and South grew wider over time and were contributing factors to the outbreak of the Civil War.
The schism between the North and South happened following the election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860. Between December 1860 and June 1861 eleven southern states seceded from the Union and formed their own government under the name the Confederate States of America.
From the outset of war, the Confederacy turned to its highly prized commodity as a means to gain support and legitimacy. In what came to be known as “Cotton Diplomacy” the Confederacy sought to win the support of foreign nations by withholding cotton. The target of this strategy were European nations, but in particular Great Britain. Great Britain was the prevailing political and industrial power of the time. Around 80% of the 800 million pounds of cotton Britain used in its textile mills came from the American South. The goods made with that cotton generated around $600 million dollars for Britain each year. By preventing the sale of cotton, it was believed that Britain would recognize the Confederacy as an independent nation, support them financially by trading with them, or even intervene militarily against the Union to ensure that the cotton trade continued.
Confederate leaders put this plan into action by placing an embargo on cotton in 1861 to limit the export of American cotton. They also burned around 2.5 million bales of the 1861 cotton crop to create a shortage. However, this strategy did not pan out for several reasons.
First, Britain was never willing to recognize the Confederacy as its own nation. In May of 1861 Britain officially declared itself neutral and deemed the Confederacy a “belligerent power.” When Confederate diplomats visited Europe later in the year they were not met with sympathy. Union diplomats were more effective in negotiating and antislavery sentiment was more prevalent in Europe, so European leaders were not keen on supporting the Confederacy.
Next, Britain prepared for and adapted to the disruption in trade caused by the Civil War. The 1850s produced a string of bumper cotton crops in the South so Britain had a surplus cotton supply. Also, sensing conflict might occur in the U.S., Britain stocked up on cotton and accumulated 1 million bales before the outbreak of the war. With this supply Britain was able to continue its textile production for over a year.
In the second half of 1862 Britain began to feel the pinch of the cotton shortage that the Confederacy caused. Thousands of textile workers were laid off due to a lack of work causing economic and social unrest. To overcome this Britain looked to other parts of the world to supply its need for cotton and they encouraged production in places like Egypt, India, and Brazil. The increase in cotton production transformed the economies of those countries bringing more wealth and, in some cases, societal changes. For instance, in India cotton production rose by 70% in the 1860s. While Britain’s cotton imports were lesser than pre-Civil War levels, their textile industry was able to carry on without the Confederacy’s cotton.
Finally, shortly after the commencement of the war in 1861 the Union army instituted a naval blockade along the South’s borders. The blockade stretched from seaports below Washington, D.C. all the way to the Mexican border. This blockade was intended to limit trade with the Confederacy and stifle the export of cotton. The blockade was not airtight and blockade-running ships were able to sneak by and continue trading acquiring goods, weapons & ammunition, and ships. The Confederates would trade with European merchants though on a much more limited scale.
Southern planters continued to focus on growing cotton during the early years of the war. However, with the inability to trade much cotton, most was stored on plantations. As the war progressed the Union army captured river and seaports like Nashville, Tennessee, Vicksburg, Mississippi, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Wilmington, North Carolina. These ports were important cotton trading centers and the Union army was able to confiscate stored cotton and sell it for their own purposes. Opportunistic Southern planters who were more concerned about profits than about the success of the Confederacy also increasingly sold their stored cotton to the Union which undermined the Confederacy’s goals.
To sum up, the Confederacy’s Cotton Diplomacy failed due to an overestimation of its importance and an inability to trade. While the Confederates were correct in recognizing that cotton was a very important American export, they overestimated European dependence on American cotton. Europeans were able to find alternate cotton sources and continue their manufacturing operations without getting involved in the war or legitimizing the rebellious Southern states. The lack of a cotton trade caused by the Union blockade and gradual capture of port cities weakened their strategy too. The Union army buying and using most Southern cotton throughout the war further hindered their strategy as the Confederacy’s enemy was growing stronger off its most abundant agricultural commodity.
After tremendous bloodshed and destruction the Civil War ended in 1865 ending the practice of slavery and many ways of Southern life that existed prior to the war. However, cotton remained an important crop in the region and for the country. Cotton production was critical to the nation’s recovery after the war and the U.S. ended up producing more cotton in the Reconstruction years than it did prior to the war. The United States would remain the world’s top cotton exporter until the late 1930s.
— Morning Ag Clips