Hog Meat and Hoecake: Food Supply in the Old South, 1840-1860

2. The Problems of Subsistence

2 The problems of subsistence In the preceding chapter, it was suggested that the South differed from the remainder of the nation in its attention to commercial nonfood crops. This fact should not be particularly surprising to students of American agriculture, since the South has traditionally been seen as a land of cotton, rice, tobacco, and sugarcane. Yet, few attempts have been made to assess the role of food production in the total southern agricultural system, establish the areas where food production was below the need, or to determine the reasons underlying specific conditions. In the following chapters we will address ourselves to these questions by looking at the production and consumption of a number of commodities. But, before a detailed analysis of the individual food productsis begun, we must have a brief look at the southern agricultural system and its environmental conditions with an eye toward identifying specific characteristics that might have affected food production. Southern agriculture and food production That the South should have "problems" of food supply is in itself somewhat perplexing. Admittedly,it developed agricultural systems somewhat different from those in the remainder of the nation, but these differences often were minor and in much of the area appeared unrelated to the production of food crops. The South produced enormous quantities of food, and in some areas the commercial nonfood crops such as cotton were unimportant. In fact, there were many parts of the nation that placed just as high an emphasis on cash crops as did much of the South.However , we cannot ignore the abundant evidence that food shortages did occur on occasion and that agriculturists in some areas made no real effort to provide foodstuffs enough for their own use. 2,1 22 HOG MEAT AND HOECAKE Therefore, it seems appropriate at the moment to examine some of the characteristics of southern agriculture that may have inhibited food production or encouraged its neglect. One of the most distinctive features of southern agriculture, and indeed the southern landscape in general, was the plantation. It was introduced into the Atlantic seaboard during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries and, when supplied with abundant, low-cost labor, proved itself to be an efficient and highly remunerative unit for producing a number of cash crops. Encouraged by the ready market for cotton, rice, and sugar; the availability of large tracts of land; and an apparently unlimited supply of slaves; the plantation became increasingly important during the antebellum period. It penetrated all parts of the South but reached its greatest development in the areas capable of specializing in such crops (figs. 4 and 5).1 The southern plantation had no inherent characteristics that necessarily inhibited food production. For centuries plantations all over the world have produced immense quantities of food for the commercial market; indeed, this has been one of their major contributions to world agricultural production. Yet, there were certain features about the organization and function of the plantation as it existed in the South that encouraged either a neglect of food production or a deliberate decision to buy rather than grow foodstuffs. Perhaps the most important of these factors was the competition from the cash crops themselves. Aside from the romantic notions that have developed about the planter, his love of the land and his paternalism toward his chattels, we must face the obvious fact that the plantation existed primarily to accumulate wealth. (There were plenty of "show plantations" in the South, but they became such only after the money had been made). The means whereby this was accomplished was growing and selling crops for cash. Obviously, foodstuffs not grown on the plantation cost money to buy,but since the plantation's raison d'etre was making money, then cash crops received the highest priority. Cotton, rice, and sugarcane all required a great deal of labor during certain times of the year, a fact that forced many operators to make choices in the allocation of labor. When competition arose between food and cash crops, it was tempting to favor the cash crop, especially since cash crops often were so remunerative that the income realized from a given amount of The problemsofsubsistence 4. PROPOKTION OF LANDHOLDINGS OVER 500 ACRES, i860. labor expended on them would buy more provisions than if the same labor had been devoted to food production. Of course, in the case of cotton, this comparative advantage may have been illusory since...