But by far the most important crop for its effects upon slavery and upon the entire country was cotton.

This single product finally absorbed the labor of half the slaves of the entire country.

Mr.
Rhodes is not at all unreasonable in his surmise that, had it not been for the unforeseen development of the cotton industry, the expectation of the founders of the Republic that slavery would soon disappear would actually have been realized.
It was more difficult to carry out a policy of emancipation when slaves were quoted in the market at a thousand dollars than when the price was a few hundred dollars.

All slave-owners felt richer; emancipation appeared to involve a greater sacrifice.

Thus the cotton industry went far towards accounting for the changed attitude of the entire country on the subject of slavery.