The southern states were economically dependent on agriculture. Most of the southern people income came from crops such as rice, indigo, sugar, and tobacco. Tobacco was the cash crop until cotton was produced. After the production of cotton grew drastically, slaves were used as a resource for picking cotton. Southern states then went on to open trading passageways with other countries to trade cotton and slaves. Eli Whitney was an inventor who created the cotton gin. The cotton gin is a machine that precisely separates the seeding that is incased inside of it. Although this machine quickly separated seeds from the cotton, there was a drastic increase in the demand for the production of even more cotton. As a result, more slaves were needed