PO5007 Sociology Essay: The Debate on Cotton Slavery and Capitalism

This essay delves into the contentious debate surrounding the relationship between cotton slavery and capitalism in the United States. It examines the "New History of Capitalism" and its grounding of industrial capitalism on the exploitation of slave labor in cotton production. The essay presents arguments supporting the linkage between cotton slavery and capitalism, highlighting the economic benefits derived from slave labor, the commodification of slaves, and the ripple effects throughout the US economy. It also explores counter-arguments, including the role of violence, the lack of wage labor, and the influence of Marxist historians. The essay analyzes the role of machines, changing soil, and other factors responsible for the rapid growth in the cotton business. The essay concludes that while cotton slavery was a major part of the history of capitalism, it is debatable whether it should be considered a form of capitalism, considering the counter arguments, which include the role of violence and the lack of wage labor.

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
Sociology
Name of the Student
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Author Note

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Debate on the topic: Was cotton slavery a form of capitalism?
Introduction
The “New History of Capitalism” grounds the rise of industrial capitalism on the
production of raw cotton by American slaves. Since the year 1790, some of the oldest and
valuable crop of America, like Tobacco were depleting farmland as well as dropping in value.
During the same time, the textile industry of USA was exploding and thus the international
demand for cotton n the textile industry also increased to a huge extent. A good number of the
stakeholders were getting highly benefited from the cotton economy and thus growing cotton led
to increased demand for the slaves. Slaves in the upper south became incredibly valuable like
commodities and were sold off in droves (Oakes 2016). A second middle passage was create and
thus was considered as the second largest forced migration in the history of America. From time
immemorial, cotton slavery as well as capitalism in the USA was not depicted to have any clear
connection. Majority of the historians have depicted slavery as a regional institution of cruelty in
the nation instead of being the driver of broader economic prosperity in America. This essay
intends to argue whether capitalism possess direct linkage with cotton slavery in USA or not.
Argument 1
According to a good number of researchers, the small farmers of New England during the
cotton revolution were not alone responsible for the economic position while the expansion of
capitalism took place. The hard labour of the slaves from places like South Carolina, Albama as
well as Missisippi in also responsible for the economic position of the nation. According to
Armstrong (2019), more than that half of the cotton export from America in within the first six
decades of the 19th century was comprised of raw cotton and majority of the cotton was grown by

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slaves. The slave economy of the southern state had ripple effects throughout the entire economy
of US along with plenty of merchants in Boston, New York city and other parts who were
helping the organize the slave grown agricultural commodities as well as plenty of riches.
Piqueras et al. (2017) have pointed out how enslaved Africans were exploited as a living labour
in order to enhance the production of cotton. Two types of violence were evidencing during that
period, namely, systematic violence for ensuring conversion and racism violence that result due
to the while supreme ideology. When it comes to systematic violence it includes inhumanly
lengthening of working hours per day, intensifying the labour as well as limiting their daily
consumption.
Argument 2
When it comes to racial Violence against the slaves, it included task labour as well as
individual targets, gang labour for hoeing as well as especially sharp during the time of harvest.
While majority of the historians have put emphasis on the fact how slavery due to
overproduction of cotton has led to torture of the enslaved individuals. However Economists
have focused on the high rise in productivity during due to the enslaved labours during the
mentioned period. The productivity of the enslaved labour was found to be increased markedly
due to newly implemented machines lie cotton gin, plough as well as transport. Along with this,
better cultivation methods as well as refinement of labour organization also took place during
that time. along with this, increment in the skills, knowledge from young movement to fresh,
more fertile soils to the south east as well as breeding of new plants were also responsible for the
mentioned enhancement in productivity. Miranda (2017) has pointed out the capitalization of
labours as commodity. Commodities are referred to the things whose value increases keeping
accordance to the expected future instead of the cost of production. Similarly, more the slaves

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are exploited successfully, higher was the price of the same. Another proof of slaves being
treated as commodity includes in the year 1859, with the increment in the demand of cotton, a
drastic increment in the demand of slaves were also noticed. During the same period, the internal
slave trade flourished and capitalization of future living labour embodied in the person of slave
was noticed (Post 2019). Due to high cost of babies, the oppression against women who were
enslaved got increased to a tremendous level.
The planters as lords were found to be enjoying specific forms of luxury consumptions.
Products of direct surplus labour along with surplus labours were enjoyable to the hybrid
landlords. Not only were this, possession on slaves and enjoyment of chattels in the context of
systematic violence that includes sexual abuse, predations on slaves as well as rape also enjoyed.
A good number of enslaved women were given the name of ‘fancy women’ and were treated as
prostitutes.
Counter arguement
However Mirzoeff (2016) argued that, in order to enhance their profit level to a
commendable extent, slave owners subjected their slaves to a competitive constrain and violence
was expected to be used to whatever extent it is profitable. Violence was the only tool that was
used in order to extract the maximizing output while the yield and pickability of the cotton is low
and the violence was found to be continued even when the yield and pickability rose due to
changing soil as well as seeds. Thus according to Baptist (2016) it is not reasonable to think that
increment in the violence on slave is the only reason behind fourfold enhancement in
productivity from the year 1805 to the year 8060. I so, the increment in the productivity could
have taken place by the year 1805. Since this did not take place, it can be clearly understood that

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other reasons like introduction of machines, changing soils and other factors are responsible for
the rapid growth in the productivity. According to Murray et al. (2015) slavery was indeed a
major part of the history of capitalism and violence was indeed a major fundamental associated
with slavery. However, cotton slavery must not be considered to be a form of capitalism since
other good factors are associated with the enhancement in the cotton business during the 1850s.
However, Roy (2016) pointed out that lack of wage labour can be considered as one of
the most common evidence that cotton slavery does not belongs to the capitalism. This view
majorly comes from the social historians and many of them are influenced by the writing of Karl
Marx. According to Marxist historians, slavery is totally distinct form that of capitalism. They
have argued that the social relation produced by the wage labours can be considered as a true
marker of capitalism instead of market condition or the level of productivity. According to some
researchers, Civil War was a bourgeois that had abolished slavery along with allowing the
transition into capitalism.
According to the historians who were the supporters of the Philips school, slavery was
unprofitable and was not viable in the long run (Murray et al. 2015). The chief reason behind this
was the increased amount of domination against the slaves. Thus, to them, the civil was nothing
but mistake. According to them while it can be said that slavery had helped a lot in order to
establish capitalism in American south, it cannot be concluded that early capitalism could not
make without slavery. For this, it crucial to search previous periods associated with the two since
slavery can hardly be the right single enabling factor of the capitalist development.
Counter argument 2

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However, this argument was debated by a good number of researchers. According to
them, exploitation of the slaves was one of the major reasons behind the drastic economic
upliftment of America. Absence of the intense labour of the slaves would have made it
impossible for the nation to experience the financial upliftment. Not only got that, as per
historical critics, the torture on the slaves as well as increment in the hours of labours per day
increased to an intolerable level (Beckert 2017). The commmodization of the slaves also began
during the mentioned time. Slaves were found to be treated less as a servant and more as a
revenue producing assets. Certainly American slavery played a role in the global supply of
cotton, which in turn was an important part in the British industrial take off.
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that slavery is one of the most effective
aspect that is directly associated with capitalism. The hard labour of the slaves from places like
South Carolina, Albama as well as Missisippi in responsible for the economic position of the
nation. The productivity of the enslaved labour was found to be increased markedly due to newly
implemented machines lie cotton gin, plough as well as transport. Along with this, better
cultivation methods as well as refinement of labour organization also took place during that time.
along with this, increment in the skills, knowledge from young movement to fresh, more fertile
soils to the south east as well as breeding of new plants were also responsible for the mentioned
enhancement in productivity.

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Reference list
Armstrong, D.V., 2019. Early-Seventeenth-Century Settlement in Barbados and the Shift to
Sugar, Slavery, and Capitalism. Power, Political Economy, and Historical Landscapes of the
Modern World: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, pp.131.
Baptist, E.E., 2016. The half has never been told: Slavery and the making of American
capitalism. Hachette UK.
Beckert, S., 2017. Cotton and the global origins of capitalism. Journal of World History, 28(1),
pp.107-120.
Miranda, D.F., 2017. Marx: the historical necessity of slavery & agriculture. Cosmos and
History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy, 13(1), pp.146-155.
Mirzoeff, N., 2016. Walter Johnson. River of Dark Dreams: Slavery and Empire in the Cotton
Kingdom. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press, 2013. 526 pp. Rebecca Solnit and Rebecca
Snedeker. Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas. Berkeley: University of California Press,
2013. 166 pp.
Murray, J.E., Olmstead, A.L., Logan, T.D., Pritchett, J.B. and Rousseau, P.L., 2015. The Half
Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism. By Edward E. Baptist.
New York: Basic Books, 2014. Pp. xxvii, 498. $35.00, cloth. The Journal of Economic
History, 75(3), pp.919-931.
Oakes, J., 2016. Capitalism and slavery and the civil war. International Labor and Working-
Class History, 89, pp.195-220.

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Piqueras, J.A., Kaye, A.E., Marquese, R. and Salles, R., 2017. Slavery and Historical Capitalism
during the Nineteenth Century. Lexington Books.
Post, C., 2019. The American Road to Capitalism. In Case Studies in the Origins of
Capitalism (pp. 165-189). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Roy, T., 2016. Sven Beckert. Empire of Cotton: A Global History.