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Texas passes law restricting cotton acreage
On this day in 1931, the state legislature passed the Texas Cotton
Acreage Control Law of 1931-32. The Great Depression had hit the Texas
economy, in which "Cotton [was] King," hard; cotton prices had already
begun to slump during the late 1920s due to reduced consumption and
steady production. The law restricted the amount of cotton planted in
1932 and 1933 to no more than 30 percent of the land in cultivation
during the preceding year, and barred farmers from planting cotton on
the same land for two successive years after 1933. Many large cotton
farmers, especially in South Texas, feared that enforcement of the law
would force them to lay off many tenant farmers, seriously increasing
unemployment in that region. Planters were also angry that legislators
failed to address the need to find alternative crops and jobs for
displaced workers. Many cotton farmers planned to evade or even openly
disregard the cotton acreage act. A few other southern states passed
similar but weaker acreage laws, but collectively they had little
effect. A federal judge declared the Texas Cotton Acreage Control Law
unconstitutional in February 1932.
- Links to Related Handbook of Texas Online Articles
- TEXAS COTTON ACREAGE CONTROL LAW OF 1931-32
- COTTON CULTURE
- GREAT DEPRESSION
- FARM TENANCY
- Other Texas Day by Day Articles for This Date
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- "American Nightingale" debuts in New York (1920)
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