Cotton City

The exploration of the North-South relationship and the growth of of antebellum Mobile.

Cotton City offers a compelling exploration of Mobile, Alabama’s transformation into a thriving urban center during the antebellum period. Historian Harriet E. Amos examines how economic ambition, civic planning, and the cotton trade shaped the city’s development between 1819 and 1861. Through detailed archival research, Amos reveals how Mobile’s leaders sought to modernize infrastructure, expand commerce, and assert the city’s regional importance—all while navigating the tensions of slavery, class, and Southern identity.

This richly contextualized study highlights the interplay between urban growth and the broader forces of the Southern economy, making Cotton City a vital contribution to the histories of the American South, urbanization, and antebellum society.