Answer:
The boom in cotton production in the southern United States in the 19th century led to the rise of the cottonocracy. The cotton industry was highly profitable, and plantation owners who grew cotton amassed great wealth and became the dominant economic and political force in the southern states. These plantation owners, known as the cottonocracy, exerted significant influence in state and national politics and were able to shape laws and policies to their advantage. They also controlled the labor of enslaved Africans who worked on their plantations, further consolidating their power and wealth. The cotton economy was a major factor in the development of the southern economy and helped fuel the growth of the cottonocracy, which dominated southern society until the Civil War.