A. Increased as a result of falling crop prices.
The devastating effects of the American civil war had a disastrous effect on the conditions of farmers whose debt increased as a result of falling crop prices in the market. The reconstruction years saw the emergence of cotton plantations at the cost of grain production, which caused food shortages. The production of cotton was profitable in the beginning, however, excess production resulted in falling of prices, resulting in the white cotton cultivators to lose ownership of lands and become tenants. Thus, this only highlighted the issues of the Southern states brought about by dependence on cotton production.
Further Explanation:
Cotton plantations required plenty of manual labor, and the growing textile industry demanded more of the crop production, which ensured profits. However small white farmers in the Southern States in the pre-civil war produced food crops for their subsistence and exchanged the surplus in the market for agricultural implements, tools, clothing and other necessities required for survival. The ravages of civil war affected their lands, which made them look to the cultivation of cash crops to ensure a supply of steady flow of cash. However, too much surplus cotton production resulted in limiting cotton imports from other countries, especially Europe, where the British had taken the lead in textiles. The falling prices made it difficult for the farmers to subsist on their land, and many of them became tenant farmers on their own lands, as it was acquired by landowners. They had to borrow money for seeds, agricultural implements, and tools, and the falling prices made it impossible to clear their debts, as a result of which, the crop production was forfeited by the landowners, providing no reprieve to the farmers.
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Answer Details:
Grade: High School, Graduation.
Chapter: The American Civil War.
Subject: History.
Keywords: Debt, crop plantation, cotton production, profit, economic exchange, subsistence, tenants, landowners.
