Listen to the Podcast 1619, episode 2, and answer the following questions. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/30/podcasts/1619-slavery-cotton-capitalism.html

1. Why was Cotton not King early in the cotton market in the U.S. and what technological change occurred that changed the importance of cotton in the southern ag markets? Explain.
2. As productivity in cotton production increased, there was a need for increased acreage planted in cotton. What production reasons resulted in the need for more land? And, how did the U.S. government help provide more land for cotton production?
3. In what ways did increased productivity in the cotton markets affect slavery in the U.S.?
4. Explain how the price of cotton in London affected the lives of slaves working on cotton plantations in the U.S.?
5. What is a slave backed mortgage bond? How did this work?
6. The authors make a comparison between the value of slaves in the U.S. to that of other economic assets at the time. What specifically was this comparison?
7. What was the panic of 1837 and how does the 'Too big to fail' concept in 1837 compare to the 'Great Recession' that started in 2008 in the U.S.?