What Developments Led to the Rise of the Cotton Kingdom

question 39

Multiple Choice

What developments led to the rise of the Cotton Kingdom during the first half of the nineteenth century?

• A) the fact that the American South was the only region in the world with the climate to cultivate cotton and the economic downturn in the rest of the world
• B) the refusal of Americans to create large companies and the value Americans placed on plantations as the country's main commercial institution
• C) the growth of British textile mills due to advancements in mechanical production and American Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin
• D) a close trade partnership between the American South and India and the American South's resulting adoption of India's handloom technologies
• E) the decline of New York City as an industrial trade center and the rise of southern cities that would temporarily surpass it in importance

---

Definitions:

Excess Capacity

Plant resources that are underused when imperfectly competitive firms produce less output than that associated with achieving minimum average total cost.

Monopolistic Competition

An economic model describing a market structure where many companies sell products that are similar but not identical, allowing for significant control over prices and product differentiation.

Industry Output

The total production of goods and services by all firms in a specific industry over a defined period.

Economic Profits

The excess of total revenues over total costs, including both explicit and implicit costs.