USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -It revolutionized the cotton industry in the United States, but also inadvertently led to the growth of slavery in the American South. Whitney’s gin made cotton farming more profitable, so plantation owners expanded their plantations and used more enslaved people to pick cotton.

Detailed explanation-2: -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.

Detailed explanation-3: -In fact, the invention of the cotton gin was vitally important to the textile industry, which was booming during the timeframe of the Industrial Revolution.

Detailed explanation-4: -After the cotton gin became available, cotton became the top cash crop in the South. Since the ease of producing cotton increased supply, the prices lowered and demand increased. Cotton manufacturing in the North increased and so did the demand for cotton.

Detailed explanation-5: -The gin separated the sticky seeds from the fibers in short-staple cotton, which was easy to grow in the deep South but difficult to process. The gin improved the separation of the seeds and fibers but the cotton still needed to be picked by hand.