Where did the word cotton picker come from?

“Cotton-picking” originated in the US in the 1700s; this evolved in the 1940s, especially in the southern states, into an adjective denoting disapproval – popularised in a 1950s Bugs Bunny cartoon – and nowadays considered to carry racist connotations in reference to African slaves on cotton plantations.

What does the expression cotton picking mean?

Definition of cotton-picking offensive. : damned —used as an intensive or as a generalized expression of disapproval.

How was cotton picked by slaves?

Often slaves, and later sharecroppers, would pick cotton from sunrise to sunset. The average cotton plant is less than three feet high, so many workers had to stoop to pick the cotton. As they picked, they would place the lint in burlap sacks carried on their backs.

When were cotton pickers invented?

The first practical cotton picker was invented over a period of years beginning in the late 1920s by John Daniel Rust (1892–1954) with the later help of his brother Mack Rust.

Do people still pick cotton?

It looks like white cotton candy. Since hand labor is no longer used in the U.S. to harvest cotton, the crop is harvested by machines, either a picker or a stripper.

When did cotton stop being picked by hand?

When Did Cotton Picking End? Prior to the 1930s, cotton harvesting was done entirely by picking cotton by hand end—it wasn’t until a man named John Rust came up with a “harvesting locomotive” in the late 1930s that any semblance of harvesting innovation became a reality.

Where is the most cotton grown in the US?

Texas
U.S. cotton is grown predominantly in 17 southern-tiered “Cotton Belt” States—from Virginia to California. Cotton is planted from March to June and harvested from August to December. Among the U.S. States, Texas is the largest producer, contributing approximately 40 percent of U.S. cotton production in recent years.

What happened to the cotton industry after the Civil War?

The plantations they abandoned were forfeited and sold. Some of the land went to freed slaves, divided up into small farms, but many plantations were purchased by northern speculators as well. Later, the Union army in the western theater captured the rich cotton lands of the Mississippi and Yazoo Delta.

What is the origin of cotton picking minute?

Origin of Cotton Picking Minute. Before the cotton gin or other mechanized approaches, this was done completely by hand, which left the workers hand extremely rough. And it’s not a surprise that this expression originated in the Southern United States, where the cotton industry was, and still is, a major industry.

Where did the phrase Cotton picking minute come from?

It can come as as little surprise that the term ‘cotton-picking’ originated in the southern states of the USA, where it is usually pronounced cotton-pickin’. It began life in the late 1700s and differs from the 19th century Dixie term, ‘cottonpicker’, in that the latter was derogatory and racist, whereas ‘cotton-picking’ referred directly to the difficulty and harshness of gathering the crop.

How long is a cotton picking minute?

A cotton picker typically worked from sunup to sundown, as opposed to our regular 8 hour workday. I think that works out to an average of 65\% longer. A cotton picking minute = 99 seconds.

Is cotton picking offensive?

The phrase “are you out of your cotton-picking mind?” seems to have a serious racial overtone, particularly against black slaves in the Southern United States, who were the pickers of cotton for much of American history. Cotton-picking is usually used as a stand-in for “damn,” to make it more socially acceptable than swearing (ironically enough).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cbO8PT1I1A