Which statement about the southern economy in the later 1850s is true? Multiple Choice As they converted to the new agricultural machinery, southern planters found themselves deeply in debt in a time of declining profits. A sense of crisis grew in the region as the price of people who were enslaved jumped and the price of cotton remained relatively stagnant. The progress of transportation development reoriented western trade toward New Orleans. Although cotton's importance as an export crop declined, it remained the primary driver of domestic economic growth