Ambitious Planters and Their Influence
There are many interpretations on the nature of southern sectionalism and what lead the South to secession in the years before the American Civil War. In The Cotton Kingdom (1919) William E. Dodd emphasizes the role of the planters in the development of the southern economy and southern sectionalism. It was the planters' influence in Congress and Andrew Jackson's policy of Indian removal that permitted the Old Southwest to be opened to cotton agriculture. Also, the thirst for wealth led the planters to push for Texas annexation and the Mexican War. The political power of the cotton kingdom at the county, state, and federal levels was firmly lodged in the hands of the planters. With the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, the planters feared the loss of influence and property. To preserve their way of life, the planters led the movement for secession. Thus, William E. Dodd explains southern sectionalism and secession as movements led by the ambitious and wealthy planters of the Old South.