Final answer:
The favorable climate in Texas was conducive to the cultivation of cotton, which was a major commercial crop in the antebellum South and required extensive labor to harvest.
Step-by-step explanation:
The climate in Texas was particularly suitable for the cultivation of cotton. This crop emerged as the leading commercial commodity in the antebellum South, surpassing other crops in economic significance. By 1860, the South was producing two-thirds of the world's cotton supply.
The invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney dramatically improved the efficiency of cotton processing, further solidifying cotton's place as a dominant crop. However, producing cotton was extremely labor-intensive and often relied on the forced labor of enslaved people for its cultivation and harvesting. After the Civil War, the economic landscape shifted, and the cotton industry experienced difficulties, but cotton remained a significant agricultural product affecting the economies and societies in the South, including Texas.