What was the most important crop in the 19th century?

The rapid increase of population and the expansion of the frontier opened up a large number of new farms, and the clearing of the land was a great preoccupation of the farmers. After 1800, cotton became the main crop of southern plantations and the main American export.

What was the main crop in the South in the early 19th century?

The southern economy was based on agriculture. Crops such as cotton, tobacco, rice, sugarcane and indigo were grown in large quantities. These crops were known as cash crops, those raised to be sold or exported at a profit.

How did people farm in the 19th century?

During the 1800s, farmers brought everything from a simple hoe to a thresher that "snorted black smoke" into Iowa fields in search of better harvests. Machines were driven by hand, by oxen or horses, and finally by steam engines.

How did the south make money in the 19th century?

Slavery was so profitable that it spawned several millionaires per per capita in the Mississippi River Valley than anywhere in the country. With cash crops of tobacco, cotton and sugar cane, America's southern states became the economic engine of the burgeoning nation.

What did farmers do in the 19th century?

What was the history of agriculture in Mississippi?

History of Agriculture in Mississippi. The farmer's capital is the fertility of the soil, of which he ought to use the interest, but without seriously impairing the principal." Of crop rotation he said: "In the South the only great object is, or has been, to raise the one staple, cotton.

The soil is largely underlain by rotten limestone and is rich and very productive. Cotton, clover, grain and grass and fruits are favorable crops. Bordering these vast tracts to the south is the central region, which produces fine crops of cotton, corn, oats, and sugar-cane, and seems to be the favorite home of the peach and strawberry.

What was the land in Mississippi known for?

The soil is well adapted to the growth of cereals, vegetables and grasses as well as cotton. The bottom lands are good for one bale of cotton per The eastern strip of the state, far enough south to include part of Kemper county, is known as the Prairie region, which in wartime was called the granary of the South.

How did Mississippi contribute to the global economy?

Cotton in a Global Economy: Mississippi (1800-1860) To the world, Mississippi was the epicenter of the phenomenon of cotton production in the first half of the 19th century.