The Cotton Gin and Its Impact on Slavery and Southern Economic Growth
Slavery on Cotton Plantations
As the world's need for textiles increased, southern states took measures to quicken the process of cultivating the land and harvesting the cotton. These measures included bringing in more and more slaves to work the fields. The slave population rose to four million at the beginning of the Civil War from only just over one million in 1810.
The Struggles of Cotton Farming
Originally, the separation of the seeds from the cotton plant had to be done manually, and this process was long and strenuous. Without new technologies, cotton farming was not as lucrative as other industries.
The Cotton Gin separated the seeds from the cotton fiber so that production could be a much faster process. The cotton is put through a set of wire teeth and the seeds are too big to fit through the wire teeth so they are detached from the cotton.
Eli Whitney
Whitney was born on December 8, 1765. He is best known for inventing the cotton gin and developing the the concept of mass production of interchangeable parts.
The Growth of Textile Factories
Producing cotton at a much faster pace allowed southern economic developments to prosper. Factories began to spring up all around, especially in the North where the cotton was often shipped too, as it became more available due to the cotton gin increasing production of the raw cotton.
Increase in Slave Labor
Economies, especially in the South, relied on slave trade to produce cotton at a low cost. The amount of slaves increased so greatly that by 1860, about one of every three southerners was a slave. Plantations expanded in order to grow more cotton, so the slaves had to perform more work.
Impact on the World
Cotton plantations grew as the need for textiles increased with the growing industry. The value of cotton was ever increasing as its uses were discovered more and it was easier to obtain. Cotton plantations were always growing.
Bulk Production
Cotton was now able to be produced in bulk, but it did not mean the immense amounts of physical labor for the slaves decreased. It actually increased as the slave masters and plantation owners continually demanded more and more cotton than what they had originally asked for.
Cotton Plantations
Ophelia is a painting by British artist Sir John Everett Millais, completed between 1851 and 1852. It depicts Ophelia, a character from Hamlet, singing before she drowns in a river in Denmark. [more]
Effects on the Modern Day
The Cotton Gin is still used to this day, although modern advancements have been made to improve the design. The process is even better now as the process is faster and much more efficient with advanced processes.
