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What was the agrarian economy like in the South and what locations produced a lot of cotton?

The agrarian economy in the South was largely composed of subsistence farmers who may or may not own their own plots. They used hired help, their own children, or maybe even rented a slave to get through the busy periods of planting and harvest. The larger planters produced one cash crop, mainly tobacco, rice, or cotton, with cotton overtaking the others when Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793. Large plantations were often located near rivers in order to get crops to market faster. While the large planters made up a tiny minority of Southern society, their political control was quite strong, and they were wealthy in terms of land ownership.


The Lower South—Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Louisiana—produced much of the nation's cotton, as cotton required fertile land and a long growing season. After the Mexican-American War, planters flocked to East Texas to take advantage of its flat, fertile ground and adequate rainfall. These areas also produced much of the Confederacy's political and military leadership.  

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