G. Cotton Is King - notes PDF

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“Cotton Is King” Speech by Senator James Henry Hammond of South Carolina March 4, 1858

1. According to Hammond, what makes the South ready to be “an empire that shall rule the world”? Large territory of 850,000 square miles as large as Great Britain. South has great climate with the ability to grow staple crops that no other country can. Access to 3,000 miles of shoreline with many bays and islands. Access to Mississippi that provides a barrier and allows trade. Beyond Mississippi, large desert prairie to protect against attack. South has large, strong population. The South is largely self-dependent, and has a thriving society and culture not reliant on government 2. What are Hammond’s thoughts on slavery? How does he attempt to justify the South’s “peculiar institution”? He believes it will spread all the way across the soil near the Mississippi because it is profitable. In every social system, there needs to be a lower, unskilled class so that there can also be a rich, civilized class. According to him, the black race was inferior making them perfect candidates for the lower class, It’s only natural to own slaves. Slavery actually helps the slaves as it gives them a purpose and food, clothing, and employment. Slaves are happy and content with their lives since slavery is better than the position God put them in. 3. How would an abolitionist, like Frederick Douglass or Harriet Beecher Stowe, counter Hammond’s paternalism? They would argue that black people are equal and that slavery is in no way better than freedom. A black person is equal to a white person in ability and intellect. Slavery is not natural and is in fact one of the most dehumanizing, cruel systems that humans have ever created. 4. In Hammond’s opinion, why is the North inferior to the South? What evidence does he use to support his claim?

2x more exports than the North. Excess wealth showed that the South had a better economy, best production per capita in the world. Also believed that commerce caused war and because the South had little manufacturing, they would never be involved in wars. To show this, Hammond uses the amount of exports and the exchange of goods between colonies. Without the South, the North would fail. By giving black people rights, Hammond believes the North is screwing themselves over and will get overthrown. 5. How might a northerner respond to Hammond’s notion that the South is superior? A northerner would argue that the South is dependent upon the North in terms of technology and the North keeps cotton growth profitable because of the market that textile mills create. The North also has a greater population and more technology leading to new innovations. North also has more transportation which helps the sale of goods around the country and with foreign nations. Without North’s manufacturing, the South would never have manufactured goods. 6. What are Hammond’s arguments for lowering the tariff? He was a believer in states’ rights, and didn’t want the federal government to interfere with trade. He believed that with the tariff, the South would’ve been better off without the government. He also didn’t want the tariff because commerce breeded war and the South didn’t want to be involved in any wars. 7. Explain Hammond’s claim: “No power on earth dares make war upon it. Cotton is King.” Every major world power is reliant upon the cotton grown by the South so if they fight the South, they lose all cotton and textiles. With bank credit failing, the South bailed out the North by selling cheap cotton. 8. What new insights did you gain from this speech about the mindset of the South’s planter elite? Not only did planters promote slavery due to economic gain, they also believed they were helping black people and giving them a better place in society than they would have without slavery. They also believed that they were immensely powerful due to growth of cotton and that the world and especially the North was dependent upon them....