The South and the West
Although the factory system revolutionized American manufacturing, it had a limited impact outside the Northeast in the first half of the nineteenth century. However, other innovations transformed the southern and western sections of the country in the early and mid-1800s.
Tobacco farming in the South declined in the years following the War of 1812. Soil exhaustion and fluctuating global prices eroded away the profits once reaped by planters in the colonial era. Southern farmers increasingly turned to wheat and other less labor-dependent crops. These trends raised questions about the viability of retaining slavery. Many southerners considered abolishing the institution.
These questions dissipated by the 1820s after the cotton gin made its impact fully felt. Ely Whitney (the same guy who developed interchangeable parts) developed the gin in the 1790s to remove seeds from raw cotton without damaging the fiber. Fifty times more efficient than handpicking the seeds, Whitney's machine made cotton production a highly profitable venture. Southern agriculture shifted its focus to cotton as plantations spread inland toward the Mississippi. Because the plantation required a large labor force, the demand for slaves increased again. The slave population of some states, such as Mississippi and Alabama, grew tenfold between 1820 and 1860.
While the cotton gin transformed the South, a mechanical mower-reaper had a similar effect on agriculture in the West. Unveiled in the 1830s, the horse-drawn McCormick reaper vastly increased the speed of grain harvesting. Western farms produced more and more wheat and other food crops.
Writing Assignment: Cotton Gin
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Using the information and images on the web pages, compose an analytical thesis statement and three main supporting points in response to the following essay question: How did the cotton gin impacUsing the information and images on the web pages, compose an analytical thesis statement and three main supporting points in response to the following essay question: How did the cotton gin impact southerners in the early 1800s? You do not need to write the essay, just the thesis statement and supporting analytical main points. t southerners in the early 1800s? You do not need to write the essay, just the thesis statement and supporting analytical main points. Use this worksheet to write your answer. |
Submit your completed writing assignment to the Writing Assignment: Cotton Gin assignment link in the M3 Tasks Folder.
