HISTORY
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Slaves no longer had to work outside in the fields, but now could work indoors
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Britain began purchasing cotton from the U.S. because of its high quality
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The planting of cotton increased resulting in more slaves being brought to the U.S.
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The Secretary of Treasury invested federal money in the cotton industry because of its success
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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: -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-3: -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-4: -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-5: -The expansion of cotton helped fuel the growth of an interlinked market economy in the United States, including in the North, because of the subsequent expansion of textile manufacturing and demand for cotton there. However, the cotton gin also helped ensure the survival and growth of slavery in the United States.