What is "king cotton"

King \King\, n. [AS. cyng, cyning; akin to OS. kuning, D. koning, OHG. kuning, G. k["o]nig, Icel. konungr, Sw. konung, Dan. konge; formed with a patronymic ending, and fr. the root of E. kin; cf. Icel. konr a man of noble birth. [root]44. See Kin.]

1. A chief ruler; a sovereign; one invested with supreme authority over a nation, country, or tribe, usually by hereditary succession; a monarch; a prince. ``Ay, every inch a king.''
   --Shak.

   Kings will be tyrants from policy, when subjects are rebels from principle.
   --Burke.

   There was a State without king or nobles.
   --R. Choate.

   But yonder comes the powerful King of Day, Rejoicing in the east
   --Thomson.

2. One who, or that which, holds a supreme position or rank; a chief among competitors; as, a railroad king; a money king; the king of the lobby; the king of beasts.

3. A playing card having the picture of a king[1]; as, the king of diamonds.

4. The chief piece in the game of chess.

5. A crowned man in the game of draughts.

6. pl. The title of two historical books in the Old Testament. Note: King is often used adjectively, or in combination, to denote pre["e]minence or superiority in some particular; as, kingbird; king crow; king vulture. Apostolic king. See Apostolic. King-at-arms, or King-of-arms, the chief heraldic officer of a country. In England the king-at-arms was formerly of great authority. His business is to direct the heralds, preside at their chapters, and have the jurisdiction of armory. There are three principal kings-at-arms, viz., Garter, Clarencieux, and Norroy. The latter (literally north roy or north king) officiates north of the Trent. King auk (Zo["o]l.), the little auk or sea dove. King bird of paradise. (Zo["o]l.), See Bird of paradise. King card, in whist, the best unplayed card of each suit; thus, if the ace and king of a suit have been played, the queen is the king card of the suit. King Cole, a legendary king of Britain, who is said to have reigned in the third century. King conch (Zo["o]l.), a large and handsome univalve shell ( Cassis cameo), found in the West Indies. It is used for making cameos. See Helmet shell, under Helmet. King Cotton, a popular personification of the great staple production of the southern United States. King crab. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. The limulus or horseshoe crab. See Limulus.

   2. The large European spider crab or thornback ( Maia squinado).

   3. A large crab of the northern Pacific ( Paralithodes camtshatica), especially abundant on the coasts of Alaska and Japan, and popular as a food; called also Alaskan king crab. King crow. (Zo["o]l.)

      1. A black drongo shrike ( Buchanga atra) of India; -- so called because, while breeding, they attack and drive away hawks, crows, and other large birds.

      2. The Dicrurus macrocercus of India, a crested bird with a long, forked tail. Its color is black, with green and blue reflections. Called also devil bird.

         King duck (Zo["o]l.), a large and handsome eider duck ( Somateria spectabilis), inhabiting the arctic regions of both continents.

         King eagle (Zo["o]l.), an eagle ( Aquila heliaca) found in Asia and Southeastern Europe. It is about as large as the golden eagle. Some writers believe it to be the imperial eagle of Rome.

         King hake (Zo["o]l.), an American hake ( Phycis regius), found in deep water along the Atlantic coast.

         King monkey (Zo["o]l.), an African monkey ( Colobus polycomus), inhabiting Sierra Leone.

         King mullet (Zo["o]l.), a West Indian red mullet ( Upeneus maculatus); -- so called on account of its great beauty. Called also goldfish.

         King of terrors, death.

         King parrakeet (Zo["o]l.), a handsome Australian parrakeet ( Platycercys scapulatus), often kept in a cage. Its prevailing color is bright red, with the back and wings bright green, the rump blue, and tail black.

         King penguin (Zo["o]l.), any large species of penguin of the genus Aptenodytes; esp., Aptenodytes longirostris, of the Falkland Islands and Kerguelen Land, and Aptenodytes Patagonica, of Patagonia.

         King rail (Zo["o]l.), a small American rail ( Rallus elegans), living in fresh-water marshes. The upper parts are fulvous brown, striped with black; the breast is deep cinnamon color.

         King salmon (Zo["o]l.), the quinnat. See Quinnat.

         King's counsel, or Queen's counsel (Eng. Law), barristers learned in the law, who have been called within the bar, and selected to be the king's or queen's counsel. They answer in some measure to the advocates of the revenue (advocati fisci) among the Romans. They can not be employed against the crown without special license.
         --Wharton's Law Dict.

         King's cushion, a temporary seat made by two persons crossing their hands. [Prov. Eng.]
         --Halliwell.

         The king's English, correct or current language of good speakers; pure English.
         --Shak.

         King's evidence or Queen's evidence, testimony in favor of the Crown by a witness who confesses his guilt as an accomplice. See under Evidence. [Eng.]

         King's evil, scrofula; -- so called because formerly supposed to be healed by the touch of a king.

         King snake (Zo["o]l.), a large, nearly black, harmless snake ( Ophiobolus getulus) of the Southern United States; -- so called because it kills and eats other kinds of snakes, including even the rattlesnake.

         King's spear (Bot.), the white asphodel ( Asphodelus albus).

         King's yellow, a yellow pigment, consisting essentially of sulphide and oxide of arsenic; -- called also yellow orpiment.

         King tody (Zo["o]l.), a small fly-catching bird ( Eurylaimus serilophus) of tropical America. The head is adorned with a large, spreading, fan-shaped crest, which is bright red, edged with black.

         King vulture (Zo["o]l.), a large species of vulture ( Sarcorhamphus papa), ranging from Mexico to Paraguay, The general color is white. The wings and tail are black, and the naked carunculated head and the neck are briliantly colored with scarlet, yellow, orange, and blue. So called because it drives away other vultures while feeding.

         King wood, a wood from Brazil, called also violet wood, beautifully streaked in violet tints, used in turning and small cabinetwork. The tree is probably a species of Dalbergia. See Jacaranda.

"King Cotton" as a slogan summarized the strategy used before the American Civil War of 1861-1865 by pro-secessionists in the Southern States (the future Confederacy) to claim the feasibility of secession and to prove there was no need to fear a war with the Northern States. The theory held that control over cotton exports would make a proposed independent Confederacy economically prosperous, would ruin the textile industry of New England, and—most importantly—would force Great Britain and perhaps France to support the Confederacy militarily because their industrial economies depended on Southern cotton. The slogan, widely believed throughout the South, helped in mobilizing support for secession: by February 1861, the seven states whose economies were based on cotton plantations had all seceded and formed the Confederacy (C.S.A.). Meanwhile, the other eight slave states, with little or no cotton production, remained in the Union.

To demonstrate the alleged power of King Cotton, Southern cotton-merchants spontaneously refused to ship out their cotton in early 1861; it was not a government decision. By summer 1861, the Union Navy blockaded every major Confederate port and shut down over 95% of exports. Since the British mills had large stockpiles of cotton, they suffered no immediate injury from the boycott; indeed the value of their stockpiles soared. For Britain to have intervened would have meant war with the U.S. and a cut-off of food supplies. About one fourth of Britain's food supplies came from the United States, and American warships could destroy much of British commerce, while the Royal Navy was convoying ships full of cotton. The British never believed in "King Cotton", and they never intervened. Consequently, the strategy proved a failure for the Confederacy — King Cotton did not help the new nation, but the blockade prevented earning desperately-needed gold. Most important, the false belief led to unrealistic assumptions that the war would be won through European intervention if only the Confederacy held out long enough.

King Cotton was a specially commissioned musical written by Jimmy McGovern and directed by Jude Kelly, based on an idea by Ian Brownbill and designed by Ti Green.

The piece was co-commissioned by The Lowry and the Liverpool Culture Company to mark 'Liverpool 08' and the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade. The project was supported by Arts Council England, the PRS Foundation and the Liverpool Empire Theatre.

The production is set in the Lancashire cotton famine and links with the American Civil War. King Cotton is the epic story of Tom, an impoverished mill-worker from the North West of England and Sokoto, a black slave from an American cotton plantation. Both are searching for their own freedom, but neither imagines that this journey will bring them together with such devastating consequences. The play is set to a moving live score of brass band music, provided by Ashton Under Lyne Brass Band and traditional spiritual music.

The play starred John Henshaw, Israel Oyelumade, Paul Anderson and Cornelius Macarthy opened at The Lowry, Salford, United Kingdom on 12 September 2007, before moving to the Liverpool Empire Theatre from 25 September 2007.

King Cotton is a military march composed in 1895 by John Philip Sousa, for the Cotton States and International Exposition (1895).

The expression " King Cotton" in general refers to the historically high importance of cotton as a cash crop in the southern United States.

The form is as follows; the number of bars is indicated in the parentheses. Intro(4)|:A(16):||:B(16):||:Trio(16)Break(16)Trio/Grandioso-2nd time(16):|

The tune is often included in compilations of Sousa's works. It was also included in the musical soundtrack (though not the soundtrack album) as carousel music in the 1973 film, The Sting.

The tune is also featured in the film The Adventures of Milo and Otis as background music. It is also featured in "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land", an episode of the American television show 30 Rock.

King Cotton was a phrase used to illustrate the importance of cotton to the Confederate economy.

King Cotton may also refer to:

• King Cotton (play), a musical written by Jimmy McGovern and directed by Jude Kelly
• King Cotton (march), a military march composed in 1895
• King Cotton (performer), stage name of Dicky Sony
• King Cotton Classic, a national level high school basketball tournament
• King Cotton, an album by Northern English folk band Fivepenny Piece

King Cotton is the stage name of Dicky Sony, a Texas blues singer born in 1945 in Navasota, Texas. He was the lead vocalist and founding member of the blues/rock band Navasota in 1969.

King Cotton achieved particular notoriety in the past two decades due to his appearance with John Cusack and Tim Robbins in the 1988 film Tapeheads. Most notable about his role as Roscoe (the " Chicken and Waffles" king) is his end-titles song "Roscoe's Rap", which has become a cult favorite on YouTube.com. He also appeared in the 1989 film Blaze starring Paul Newman as Louisiana Governor Earl Long.