alleryStart learning →By 1850, what share of the world supply of cotton was grown in the American south?
AOne-quarter of it
BSeven-eighths of it
CThree-fifths of it
DOne-half of it
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. Seven-eighths of it
1. Cotton output rose from about 16 million kilograms in 1800 to 72 million in 1820.
2. By 1840 it had passed 301,500,000 kilograms.
3. By 1850 seven-eighths of the world supply of cotton was grown in the American south.
4. That scale of production tied a vast investment of capital to one crop and one labor system.
5. A quarter or a half would leave most of the world supply elsewhere, which was not the case.
_Source: An Outline of American History (U.S. Information Agency, 1990, public domain), section DEBATE OVER SLAVERY MOUNTS_
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