American Cotton Economy and the Antebellum South (1793–1865)

1. Whitney receives cotton gin patent

   Mar 14, 1794Labels: Eli Whitney, Cotton gin, Plantation agriculture

   • PBS AIA
   • Founders Archives

2. Missouri Compromise sets early limits on slavery’s expansion

   Mar 6, 1820Labels: Missouri Compromise, Congress, Louisiana Territory

   • National Archives
   • US Census

3. Choctaw cede land in Treaty of Doak’s Stand

   Oct 18, 1820Labels: Choctaw Nation, Treaty of, Mississippi

   • OKState Treaties
   • Treaty index

4. Indian Removal Act accelerates land access for cotton expansion

   May 28, 1830Labels: Indian Removal, Federal government, Southeast

   • Britannica

5. Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek enables Choctaw removal

   Sep 27, 1830Labels: Treaty of, Choctaw Nation, Mississippi

   • DigiTreaties
   • Britannica

6. Panic of 1837 highlights cotton’s role in credit and risk

   May 1, 1837Labels: Panic of, Banks, Planters

   • Britannica

7. Kansas–Nebraska Act repeals Missouri Compromise restrictions

   May 30, 1854Labels: Kansas Nebraska, Popular sovereignty, Territories

   • National Archives
   • Britannica

8. Cotton becomes central to U.S. exports and Southern political confidence

   Jan 1, 1855Labels: King Cotton, Southern economy, U S

   • Britannica

9. Hammond’s “Cotton is king” speech captures pro-slavery arguments

   Mar 4, 1858Labels: James Henry, Cotton is, Senate speech

   • Britannica
   • Contextus

10. Secession crisis begins after Lincoln’s election

    Dec 20, 1860Labels: Secession crisis, Southern states, Abraham Lincoln

    • Britannica
    • Britannica

11. Emancipation Proclamation reframes war and undermines slave-based cotton

    Jan 1, 1863Labels: Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln, Confederacy

    • National Archives
    • Britannica

12. Congress passes Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery

    Jan 31, 1865Labels: Thirteenth Amendment, Congress, Abolition

    • National Archives
    • House History

13. Thirteenth Amendment is ratified, closing the antebellum cotton era

    Dec 6, 1865Labels: Thirteenth Amendment, Ratification, Antebellum era

    • National Archives
    • House History