Which statement provides the best evidence to support the conclusion that the production of cotton was the most important economic activity in georgia during the antebellum period? a) by the 1840s, railroad construction gave georgia planters an alternative to transporting cotton via steamboat. b) the piedmont and coastal plains regions provided a combination of suitable soil and climate for cotton production. eliminate c) in 1860, over 87,000 georgians were working in agriculture, which was almost 40,000 more than all other occupations combined. d) planters were landowners who owned 20 or more field slaves; they made up georgia's upper class and dominated the state's business and government.