Final answer:
Cotton was a major export that shaped the Southern economy and society by establishing a dependency on enslaved labor and fostering significant international trade, especially with Great Britain's textile industry. The relationship between cotton production and slavery was so entrenched that it became central to the South's resistance to economic and social changes leading up to the Civil War. So, the correct answer is option c.
Step-by-step explanation:
Cotton played a key role in the Southern economy because it was a major export that significantly influenced the region's social and economic structures. The establishment of cotton as the predominant commercial crop, especially after Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin in 1793, made cotton production less labor-intensive and more profitable. This innovation led to a rapid expansion of cotton growing areas, with the cultivation process heavily relying on enslaved labor.
Cotton's profitability and the South's economic reliance on this cash crop were fundamental reasons that slavery persisted and expanded in the region. With the profitability linked to the institution of slavery, cotton solidified itself as the foundation of the Southern economy. Exported globally, especially to Great Britain's textile mills, Southern cotton was essential in fueling the industrial revolution while binding the South more tightly to slave-dependent agriculture.
The economic significance of cotton was further underscored during the ante-bellum period when the South became the world's leading cotton producer. The phrase 'King Cotton' is an accurate depiction of the crop's dominance in both American and global markets, confirming the South's dependency on this single cash crop.
The societal fabric of the South was so interwoven with cotton and slavery that any threat to or change in this dynamic was fiercely resisted up until the Civil War. To such an extent was the dependency that, on the eve of the Civil War, the South attempted to use its cotton monopoly as leverage to gain British support for Confederate independence.
So, the correct answer is option c.