Initially we thought about doing a “Cotton through the ages” post about everyone from little babies to great grandparents feeling good about wearing cotton, but cotton is much bigger than that. Especially in the United States. It is the very fabric of our history.
The history of domesticated cotton is not at all precise. Though it is known for durability, cotton is a natural fiber, which breaks down and degrades over long periods of time. It becomes very hard to trace after a certain number of years. Most historical cotton remnants were found only in arid climates; these date back to as far back as 4500 BCE.
Almost since the beginning of time and almost all over the world, cotton has been cultivated, fabricated, traded, woven, and worn. Disparate ancient civilizations across the globe invented the very same tools (spindles, combs, looms) for making cotton fabric. But it was not until the 19th Century, that cotton became such a major economic and social driver, especially in the United States, where it “comprised more than half the total value of domestic exports in the period 1815-1860.”(History.com)
History.com has a great, detailed story of cotton in the USA. It begins like this:
“References to phenomena that make up the “fabric of history” are usually metaphorical, but in the case of cotton, the fiber truly did help weave the fabric of American history. Cotton was, above all, a crucial factor in the nation’s economic development. But cotton cultivation was also a source of conflict (racial, sectional, and between social classes) before the Civil War, and after the war, cotton fields and factories engendered debate over the extent to which the federal government could change society and the economy through centralized planning.”
The rest of the article discusses cotton’s powerful influence on our complex social, political, and economic development as a country. Cotton did not make it easy for our country, but it certainly played a huge role in our becoming the nation that we are… And you thought it just made great t-shirts…
comfort colors style 