Conversations on South Carolina: The State and the New Nation, 1783-1828 - The Importance of Cotton

Dr. Peter Coclanis, the Albert Ray Newsome Distinguished Professor & Director of the Global Research Institute at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, joins Dr. Edgar for the first of a series of Conversations on South Carolina: The State and the New Nation, 1783-1828. Professor Coclanis, author of The Shadow of a Dream: Economic Life and Death in the South Carolina Low Country, 1670-1920, will discuss the historical importance of cotton to the state's economy.

This series of public conversations is sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Southern Studies Institute.

South Carolina's Economy In 1763 | Walter Edgar's Journal

Episode 1

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

In this first segment on ‘The Importance of Cotton,’ Dr. Peter Coclanis gives us a brief overview of South Carolina’s economic landscape, pre-Revolutionary War (1763). Before the American Revolution...

South Carolina: The 18th Century Rice King Of The Western World | Walter Edgar's Journal

Episode 2

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Walter Edgar begins by noting how Charleston played a crucial role in South Carolina’s economy. Dr. Coclanis then discusses the major exports from South Carolina. In the 18th century,rice was S.C.'s...

The Heyward Brothers | Walter Edgar's Journal

Episode 3

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In this segment, Walter Edgar discusses the Heyward Brothers, and their method of digging “rice dikes” for growing rice. The Heyward Brothers are seen as the pioneers of the tidal cultivation in South...

Decline Of Rice In SC | Walter Edgar's Journal

Episode 4

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Dr. Coclanis describes why rice declined as a “cash crop” in South Carolina, in favor of other exports.

The Rise Of Cotton In SC | Walter Edgar's Journal

Episode 5

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With the invention of the “Cotton Gin” by Eli Whitney, combined with methods we would today call “scientific plant breeding,” the cotton industry boomed in South Carolina, in the early 19th century...

Supply And Demand For Cotton | Walter Edgar's Journal

Episode 6

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With the success of cotton in South Carolina, entrepreneurs in other states looked to cash in on the success of cotton plantations. When the cotton economy and market-shares begin to decline in S.C...

Cotton's Continued Success After The Civil War | Walter Edgar's Journal

Episode 7

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

After the Civil War, and the end of slavery, cotton continued to remain as one of South Carolina’s mainstay crops, even well into the 20th century.

The Importance of Cotton (Full Version) | Walter Edgar's Journal

Episode 8

Audio

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Dr. Peter Coclanis, the Albert Ray Newsome Distinguished Professor & Director of the Global Research Institute at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, joins Dr. Edgar for the first of a...