The Rise and Fall of Cotton,
Textile Mills, Tourism, and More!
19th and 20th Century
SC Standard 3-5.3
Cotton is King!
(Well, it was before the Civil War)
The cotton industry was good and bad
in 19th and 20th century.
During: Customers for SC cotton
found new sources
After: land owners made the
sharecroppers continue to plant
cotton. They needed it as a cash
crop!
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LOTS of farmers depended on cotton for
money, so they planted more and more.
All of a sudden, there was TOO much
cotton!
What happened to the price of cotton if
there was a surplus of it?
THE PRICE WENT DOWN! (no more
money for the farmers…boo hoo)
Cotton
Farm before
They Planted
More Civil War
And planted even MORE
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Growing cotton took a toll on the soil.
The more cotton was grown (and there was
A LOT of it) the more that the soil lost its
nutrients.
Then farmers had to plant MORE so that
they could get more to grow.
This increased the supply even more! What
would they do with all that cotton?
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Textile Mills continued to be built. What do they
need to make the cloth?
Cotton, of course!
Then the demand was increased. There was a
place for all that cotton after all.
Then something came and started to destroy the
cotton crops. A pesky little creature. What was
his name?
The Boll Weevil!
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That boll weevil invaded the cotton
fields and hurt the cotton economy.
No more money being made from those
cotton farms. Who wants cotton
infested with bugs???
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World War I (WWI) increased the need
for cotton. Demand was up again!
Why do you think the demand went up
again because of a war? What kind of
things would they need cotton for?
Soldiers’ uniforms, bags and other cloth
materials.
Cotton was finally bringing in some money
for those poor farmers.
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What happened to the demand of cotton
once the war ended?
The demand ended too. No one REALLY
needed cotton quite as badly.
Still, farmers had lots of cotton, so the
supply was high but the prices fell back
down.
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Farming wasn’t the only industry that was
struggling.
What else?
Textile mills had hard times in the 1920’s too.
They couldn’t get high prices for the products
they made.
Workers wanted more money for the long hours
they worked. (Wouldn’t you?)
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What was developed to replace cotton as
cloth?
Synthetic fibers like polyester and rayon.
What happens to the demand for cotton
and textile mills when cotton is replaced
by a different (better) material?
Demand decreased for cotton and cotton
textile mills.
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A time period called the Great Depression
hurt the cotton farmers and the textile
mills.
The Great Depression was a time of
hardship and sadness. The economy was at
an all-time low.
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World War II began – another hard time. But,
it’s a war, and soldiers need supplies.
What happened to the demand for cotton and
textile mills?
Demand increased!
Farmers and mill workers went back to work.
What kinds of things were they making?
Uniforms, supplies, bags, anything cloth.
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What happened when WWII ended?
Demand fell again! (Are you seeing a pattern yet?)
The farmers were tired of the inconsistency of
the cotton industry. Sometimes it’s up,
sometimes it’s down.
They decided to change the crop they were
farming.
Any ideas of what they turned to instead?
Peaches and Tobacco
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Other parts of the world were growing cotton and
had textile mills too. So, South Carolina wasn’t the
only one.
Other parts of the world were more successful with
this because they paid lower wages in other countries.
(Us Americans like to get paid lots of money.)
So, many textile mills in SC got closed down. What
happened to the demand of cotton with closed textile
mills?
It DECREASED!
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We all know that people still farm in SC
today! (Hooray for locally grown foods)
Some cotton is still grown in SC also. Not
nearly as much.
Most farmers today farm crops like
tobacco, pine trees and soybeans.
These 3 things are now the states most
important crops.
Tourism~
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What are some reasons people would want to
come to Charleston during the 19th and 20th
century?
To visit the historic city of Charleston and the
beautiful beaches. Both wonderful in many
ways.
Tourism was developed by entrepreneurs and
the state government so people could enjoy
these things.
What kinds of things were built to help
the tourism industry?
 Hotels, restaurants, parks, etc.
 What are some major tourist cities in
SC?
 Charleston and Myrtle Beach (built as a
tourist attraction)
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The “new bridge”
The Battery, Downtown Charleston
Carriages pulled by
horses. (You see
this a lot.)
Myrtle Beach- The Grand Strand
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What advances helped make it possible for
these cities to be visited by tourists from other
states?
Increased number of automobiles, more
national highways and state roads
Air conditioning also boosted tourism. (It gets
really hot on the beach in the summer)
Today, tourism is a MAJOR industry in South
Carolina. The economy benefits a lot from it.
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War had a big impact (in a positive way) on the
cotton and other industries.
Starting in WWI, ships were built in Charleston
at the Navy Yard.
Military bases were built to train to soldiers from
all over the US. (Like Camp Jackson in
Columbia)
This continued through WWI and the Cold War.
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War needed a lot of supplies.
The national government built the Savannah
River nuclear plant to make the materials
used in bombs during the Cold War.
How did this plant help the economy?
It provided more jobs
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WWII increased world trade.
SC governors worked hard to make more industries
come to South Carolina to make more jobs for the
people.
Industries (businesses) did come to SC because the
taxes and wages were low.
Jobs kept increasing because of more port facilities
All these new jobs stimulated the economy and
increased demands for goods and services like grocery
stores, gas stations and hospitals.
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All of these economic changes helped move
people into the state of SC.
After what we talked about, who do you think
was coming to SC?
Soldiers training at military bases, tourists,
employees (workers), or retired people.
All of these different groups are what makes
SC such a diverse community.