What economic system supported the cotton industry in the South?

The economic system that supported the cotton industry in the South was slavery. The cotton boom in the early to mid-19th century deeply relied on enslaved labor, as plantation owners sought to maximize production and profits. With the rise of cotton as a cash crop, especially after the invention of the cotton gin, planters acquired more laborers to cultivate and harvest the cotton fields.

Slavery provided the workforce necessary for large-scale cotton production, enabling plantation owners to operate at lower costs compared to hiring wage laborers. This system created a self-reinforcing cycle where the profit from cotton not only sustained the institution of slavery but also led to its expansion, further embedding it in the economic and social fabric of the Southern states.

Thus, slavery was the foundational economic system that enabled the prosperity of the cotton industry, making it distinct from other systems such as capitalism, feudalism, or mercantilism, which did not operate in the same way or with the same implications for labor and economy in the Southern context.