The Emergence of the Cotton Kingdom in the Old Southwest, 1770–1860 by John Hebron Moore

Abstract

TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 177 refining”) would eliminate nearly all of its archaic aspects. Yet the sugar business of the 18th century nonetheless remains an important example of how an industry could prosper and grow within the limits imposed by the Old Regime. Anyone interested in this question, or in the more general issue of the possibility of technological and com­ mercial innovation within the context of a rigid political and social environment, should read this outstanding little book. Christopher Esco Guthrie Dr. Guthrie is an assistant professor of history at Tarleton State University and has published “The Battle for the Third Republic in the Arrondissement of Narbonne, 1871—1872” in French History (March 1988). He is currently preparing a study comparing the rank-and-file participants in the French Revolution with those in the provincial insurrections of 1871. The Emergence ofthe Cotton Kingdom in the Old Southwest, 1770—1860. By John Hebron Moore. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1988. Pp. xii + 323; tables, notes, appendixes, bibliography, index. $40.00 (cloth); $17.95 (paper). This book is the product of a long and distinguished scholarly career. John Hebron Moore has drawn on his vast knowledge of the antebellum South to produce a richly detailed and highly informative account of the rise of the Cotton Kingdom in the pre—Civil War era. His focus is on Mississippi, but many of his insights and interpreta­ tions apply as well to other states of the Old Southwest. The book traces the economic and social development of Mississippi from the late 18th century, when settlement was mainly confined to the Old Natchez District, to the outbreak of the Civil War, when the state was fully occupied. The driving force behind that development was the rapidly expanding demand for raw cotton. It was what drew people into the Southwest Territory to cultivate the area’s rich soils. It explains the widespread adoption of the plantation-slave system, which was ideally suited to cotton production. It supplied the incen­ tive for utilizing waterways and building railroads that could deliver the fiber to coastal markets. The appearance and growth of interior commercial centers owed much to the demand for goods and services originating with cotton farmers. Response to the demand for cotton not only set the parameters for the association between master and slave; it also played a significant role in shaping the social structure and relationships within the white community. Finally, Mississippi’s nearly singleminded devotion to commercial cotton was an important factor in its decision tojoin other Confederate States in seceding from the Union in 1861. Moore’s Mississippians were vitally interested in making their farming operations as efficient as possible. To this end they adopted 178 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE a wide array of new technology. They experimented with different varieties of cotton until they found one appropriate for their partic­ ular soil and climatic conditions. They employed the latest hand tools and animal-drawn equipment, and they harnessed steam power to their cotton gins and presses. Some even attempted to preserve and to improve the quality of their soils by applying fertilizers, practicing crop rotation and contour plowing, and constructing drainage sys­ tems. Slave labor sometimes imposed special constraints on the adoption of new technology because it created the need for additional training in its use and for closer supervision to guard against sabotage. But Mississippi farmers and planters overcame these and other difficulties as they responded to the income-enhancing oppor­ tunities provided by technological developments. Moore’s is a synthetic rather than an empirical study. He weaves together the results of his own work and that of many others to present a comprehensive overview of Mississippi’s antebellum Cotton Kingdom. One might complain that the book is more anecdotal than analytical. This is especially true of the sections on the adoption of technology, which offer example stacked on example without attempting—or reporting on the attempts of others—to assess the results systematically. Moreover, Moore probably overstates the eager­ ness of Mississippians to embrace new technology; most historians see greater resistance to innovation than his description suggests. Moore also exaggerates the South’s dependence on outside sources of...