The correct answer is B) Those who had accumulated wealth in cotton before the Civil War still held it.
Cotton was still “king” at the start of World War I in that those who had accumulated wealth in cotton before the Civil War still held it.
Cotton was the most profitable cash crop in the Southern plantations. Wealthy landlords benefited so much from growing cotton and made millions of dollars trading it in the United States and exporting it to Europe. Even at the beginning of World War 1, cotton still represented a profitable business.