WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -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-2: -With the gin (short for engine), raw cotton could be quickly cleaned; Suddenly cotton became a profitable crop, transforming the southern economy and changing the dynamics of slavery. The first federal census of 1790 counted 697, 897 slaves; by 1810, there were 1.2 million slaves, a 70 percent increase.

Detailed explanation-3: -Growing more cotton meant an increased demand for slaves. Slaves in the Upper South became incredibly more valuable as commodities because of this demand for them in the Deep South. They were sold off in droves. This created a Second Middle Passage, the second largest forced migration in America’s history.

Detailed explanation-4: -Prior to the invention of the cotton gin, slavery was in decline. The profitably of crops grown with slave labor, such as rice, tobacco, indigo and cotton was steadily decreasing. Some slaveholders began freeing their slaves in response.