Market Revolution · US History

How did the invention of the cotton gin impact the Southern economy and social structure?

  1. It led to the gradual diversification of the entire Southern economy into manufacturing
  2. It decreased the Southern reliance on enslaved labor as machines did the work
  3. It made short-staple cotton profitable and led to the expansion of slavery westward
  4. It caused a mass migration of Southern planters to Northern industrial cities
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Correct answer: It made short-staple cotton profitable and led to the expansion of slavery westward

Eli Whitney's cotton gin allowed for the quick removal of seeds from short-staple cotton, making large-scale production highly profitable. This led to the 'Cotton Kingdom' and a renewed, aggressive expansion of the plantation system and slavery into the Deep South.

Difficulty: Medium Question 5 of 20

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