Cotton

King Cotton

I am African- American. I come from a background of European, Native American, but my dominant nationality is African- American. Being African- American has its ups and downs. My ancestors did have the brightest or happiest history. However, without their struggle I would not be alive today.

During the 18^th and 19^th century, as described in my textbook, North American was evolving into an Industrial Society. This industrialization era consisted of a transformation of just using agrarian approach of life to an era of using machine manufacturing. This turnpike in history was the beginning of a lot of utilizing a lot of new things: coal, Iron, steel, steam, but more importantly cotton. Iron was important for creating the machines but steel was important for making them sturdy. Steam was innovative for the use of transportation and energy (steamboat, and steam engine), simply by mixing burning coal with boiling water. But the most useful item in this era was cotton. This resource was great for the making of clothing because it was cheap however the labor needed to pick the crop from the ground was inexcusable.

Cotton was the key source for the economy to thrive in the southern states of the United States. Some of the locals would call it “gold”. However this crop was became a crucial piece in what later became known as the “Second Middle Passage” for the African slaves that has to harvest the crop. As one may recall the infamous Middle Passage of the 1500’s until the late 1800’s that left, “At least 2 million Africans--10 to 15 percent” (1) dead, the thriving resource of cotton became a suspect in the substantially equivalent “second Middle Passage”.

In order for cotton to be of any use to anyone in the 19^th century, there had to be someone to harvest the crop. The demand for the product became prevalent when the industrialization period brought forth machinery that could assist the workers in the factories. The cheapest way to mass produce this crop was to enforce slave labor. Slave labor consisted of people working against their will, for little to no pay, and under the strict control of slave masters who had complete control of their freedoms.

The 19^th century did not leave any happy memories in the eyes of my ancestors. For they were apart of the “10-16 million people” who were brought here to fulfill the needs of southern citizens and their economic desires. In 2015, those scars from the brutal past of slavery have not healed. In fact we are still living in society where our true calling has not been truly defined. Just as my African- American ancestors became a component of the evolution of life in the United States, I play apart in the outcome of my generation’s own future.

References

Digital History (2014). The Middle Passage. Retrieved : 12 January 2014. Website http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3034