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Eli Whitney Research Paper

805 Words4 Pages

Cotton is a key component in products manufactured throughout the United States. From clothing to fishnets, many Americans use cotton everyday. But, how did cotton get so popular? Before Cotton the Southern plantations were dominated by Tobacco, Rice, and Indigo. These cash crops were vital to the Southern economy, and brought in millions of dollars to wealthy landowners. These crops were shipped worldwide, and dominated the market for many years. Around the end of the 18th century this all changed due to the creation of Eli Whitney’s famous invention. Eli Whitney was born on December 8th, 1765, in Westboro Massachusetts. Eli’s family owned a farm, which the family tended, and maintained. However, Eli always had a familiarity with machines, …show more content…

Slaves were commonly used to farm tobacco, and other common cash crops. However, with cotton production booming the south needed more, and more slaves to supply the demands of the wealthy plantation owners. Slaves were commonly smuggled into the Americas (slave importation had been deemed illegal in 1808). Slave women were in very high demand. Slave owners wanted female slaves to work in the household, and to reproduce, so they gained even more slaves to help in the cotton production. Plantation owners even went as far as to encourage slave women to reproduce through promises of freedom. Slaves were treated very poorly. Their lives revolved around work, with no pay for their efforts. The work was dangerous, and slaves were commonly injured or killed by working with these machines. Slaves could not marry, although many slave owners allowed them to marry and reproduce with other slaves. Slaves were looked at, and treated like property. Within ten years of the creation of Whitney’s “Cotton Gin” slavery increased over 70%, with 1.2 million African Americans enslaved. The value of the total United States crop leaped from $150,000 to more than $8 million. Ironically, Eli Whitney intended to decrease the number of slaves needed to farm cotton, and not increase it. The Cotton Gin had some drawbacks, as well as all the benefits. The machines could injure and kill slave operators in great numbers, which could result in the failure of a plantation. The constant farming of cotton was extremely hard on the soil, and caused it to lose almost all its nutrients. Also the Cotton Gin created an unequal socio-economic structure in the South. All the wealthy plantation owners controlled the South, while poor white landowners, and slaves had little to no say in

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