What structural weakness emerged from the South's overwhelming reliance on 'King Cotton'?
Answer
Regional economies became incredibly fragile, tied to global market demands for that one crop
The monoculture production meant that regional economies became incredibly fragile, subject to immediate and severe contraction when cotton prices fluctuated due to external factors like war or overseas competition.
Related Questions
What was the function of the wire teeth or rotating saws in Eli Whitney's original cotton gin design?What trade-off was introduced by the early cotton gin's mechanism prioritizing separation speed?Why did early gins struggle to efficiently clean short-staple cotton output?What immediate hazard did the high-speed operation of the early cotton gins pose to the workers?What was the most profound weakness introduced by the cotton gin, according to the text?Before the cotton gin, why was short-staple cotton unattractive for plantations reliant on enslaved labor?How did the cotton boom resulting from the gin's invention affect the planter class?What structural weakness emerged from the South's overwhelming reliance on 'King Cotton'?In regions where long-staple cotton grew, how was the economic pressure related to slavery expansion affected?Which subsequent adjustments were introduced to mitigate the mechanical shortcomings of Whitney’s early model?