The more cotton Planters had, the more slaves they needed. In 1790, about 698,000 Africans Americans were enslaved, just in the US alone. By 1860, there were almost 4 million African americans that were enslaved. During all of this the price of a slave increased. Alabama and Mississippi had more slaves then states like Kentucky, because they depended more on cotton. This seems unreal, but more then half of the southern farmers did not own any slaves. This was because they focused more on corn and raising animals: Hogs, cows and chickens just to name a few.
