“A plantation well stocked with hands, is the ne plus ultra of every man’s ambition who resides at the south. Young men who come to this country, ‘to make money,’ soon catch the mania, and nothing less than a broad plantation, waving with the snow white cotton bolls, can fill their mental vision, as they anticipate by a few years in their dreams of the future, the result of their plans and labours. . . .

Question

Cotton and negroes are the constant theme—the ever harped upon, never worn out subject of conversation among all classes. But a small portion of the broad rich lands of this thriving state is yet appropriated. Not till every acre is purchased and cultivated—not till Mississippi becomes one vast cotton field, will this mania, which has entered into the very marrow, bone and sinew of a Mississippian’s system, pass away. And not then, till the lands become exhausted and wholly unfit for farther cultivation. The rich loam which forms the upland soil of this state is of a very slight depth—and after a few years is worn away by constant culture and the action of the winds and rain. The fields are then ‘thrown out’ as useless.”

—Joseph Holt Ingraham

Which cash crop is being discussed here in the quote?

Group of answer choices

Corn

Cotton

Beans

Tobacco

Answer 1

The cash crop being discussed in the quote is Cotton.