King Cotton
Proper noun
Meaning
King Cotton
(obsolete) A personification of the cotton production of the southern United States.
Examples
The Confederates assumed that European countries were so dependent on " King Cotton " that they would intervene; none did, and none recognized the new Confederate States of America.
By the mid-19th century, " King Cotton " had become the backbone of the southern American economy.
"King Cotton" was dead, as the South could export less than 10 percent of its cotton.
The cash came from exports but the Southern people spontaneously stopped exports in spring 1861 to hasten the impact of " King Cotton ".