Founder Crops of the United States: Tobacco & Cotton

In this blog post I will be discussing why tobacco and Cotton were two founder crops of the United States of America, while also highlighting similarities/ connection between the crops.  There are many reasons why tobacco and cotton flourished in the newborn colonies of the North American mainland.  I will first examine how tobacco was able to bring the failing colonies out of threat of extinction.  Then I will discus how cotton became so widespread in the United States leading to financial security.

Tobacco gave the colonies a strong foot to stand on after many failing attempts at colonizing the North American mainland.  English settlers who made strong efforts to create a diversified economy by producing a range of crops founded Jamestown in 1607.  Fragile relationships between the English and Native Americans, starvation, and disease created very unfavorable living conditions.  The struggling community was a financial disaster for the Virginia Company.  The cultivation of tobacco saved the failing colony from destruction.  The conditions were perfect for growing the crop with relatively low production costs and a high yield per acre.  The reason that tobacco was able to bring so much success for settlers at Jamestown was its bottomless market across the Atlantic.  “Tobacco leaf, to the settlers of Virginia, really was ‘as good as gold’”(Musgrave 24). 

Tobacco production in the colonies was fueled by the endless demand for it in Europe.  Raw cotton was another crop that was in high demand.  A large amount was now needed after new technological and mechanical advances gave rise to the British textile industry.  The colonies provided fertile soil that was highly suited to the growth of cotton.  The invention of the cotton gin was so efficient that a single slave could now gin 50 lb of cotton a day.  In the span of 66 years (between 1784 and 1850) Dixie went from supplying no cotton to Britain, to holding 82% of the market share. Cotton became the survival crop for the states because it was the only crop with an assured market, after war and tariffs caused problems exporting grain and Britain started imposing a large import duty on tobacco. 

The bottomless market across the Atlantic created great opportunities for both tobacco and cotton to flourish in the United States.  Soil fertility and large amounts of land made it possible for these crops to create a solid foundation for the United States to grow.  These are some of the many reasons why tobacco and cotton were the two founder crops of the United States of America.