Cotton Gin Dbq Essay

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Did you know the purpose of the cotton gin was to decrease the number of slaves but in fact doubled the amount? The cotton gin was made in early 1790 by Eli Whitney. The cotton gin was made to be used by slaves and became popular in Georgia. It was made to clean cotton faster and easier but made owners gain more slaves. The cotton gin was increasing trade, manufacturing, transportation, slavery, and railroads throughout America and the world.

To begin with, the cotton gin was increasing Georgia’s economy through trade, manufacturing, and transportation. For example, document B stated, “Whether it was trade, manufacturing, or transportation, much of Georgia’s economic activity was directly or indirectly driven by cotton.” Meaning Georgia’s economic growth was from one factor. In addition, document B also stated, “They buy cotton, sell cotton, think cotton, eat cotton, drink cotton, and dream cotton....” ”the great staple, sum, and substance...” This meant cotton had so much of an effect on Georgians that this was their main way of gaining their own money and increasing Georgia’s wealth. In summary, Georgia’s increase in the economy was from an increase in trade, manufacturing, and transportation. …show more content…

Source D is a diagram of cotton production in Georgia starting in the year 1800 and ending in 1860. This diagram shows the noticeable difference in cotton and the number of slaves increasing throughout the years. This means that the more cotton produced, cleaned, and sold, increased the number of slaves to do the harder labor like planting. Consequently, the cotton gin ended up doing the exact opposite of what its intended purpose was. Which was to decrease the number of slaves working in the cotton fields but instead doubled the number of