LIFE IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA 1807 1861
SLAVERY IN AMERICA COTTON SLAVE TRADE AND THE SOUTHERN RESPONSE
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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The cotton gin made cotton production vastly more profitable, meaning that growers wanted to grow even more of it, thereby increasing the demand for slave labor.
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The cotton gin made cotton production easier, so less labor was needed, decreasing the demand for slave labor.
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The cotton gin meant that more cotton was produced, which meant that slave labor was needed in the clothing factories of Europe.
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The cotton gin sparked an arms race between African kingdoms, because they all wanted the newly cheaper fabric.
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Detailed explanation-1: -While it was true that the cotton gin reduced the labor of removing seeds, it did not reduce the need for enslaved labor to grow and pick the cotton. In fact, the opposite occurred. Cotton growing became so profitable for enslavers that it greatly increased their demand for both land and enslaved labor.
Detailed explanation-2: -The gin improved the separation of the seeds and fibers but the cotton still needed to be picked by hand. The demand for cotton roughly doubled each decade following Whitney’s invention. So cotton became a very profitable crop that also demanded a growing slave-labor force to harvest it.
Detailed explanation-3: -Contents. In 1794, U.S.-born inventor Eli Whitney (1765-1825) patented the cotton gin, a machine that revolutionized the production of cotton by greatly speeding up the process of removing seeds from cotton fiber. By the mid-19th century, cotton had become America’s leading export.
Detailed explanation-4: -How did the cotton gin lead to the spread of slavery? The cotton gin made the harvesting of the cotton faster, which increased the production of cotton. With all of the cotton, slave owners would need more slaves, which would mean more harvested cotton, which would result in more money.