Throughout all of human history, advances in technology have sparked changes in society. From the stone tools of the early humans to today’s smartphones, technology has influenced history and helped shape the world to its current form. One historical period that featured significant advances in technology was the Industrial Revolution, which occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries (“Industrial Revolution” 615). During this period, much of Europe and the United States began to shift away from agriculture towards manufacturing, disrupting the existing economy and society and setting the stage for the modern world. Three technological advances of the Industrial Revolution that profoundly transformed American society were the cotton gin, which …show more content…
One immediate consequence was that cotton production rose by nearly fifty times as Southern planters began processing their cotton with the gin. Additional improvements to the machine and the development of a large-scale factory version further spurred the rapid emergence of cotton as a profitable cash crop (Brain 60). Over the span of half a century, cotton production in the United States skyrocketed from four thousand bales in 1790 to over a million bales in 1840, an increase of over 250 times (“Cotton Kingdom” 75). By the 1840s, Southern cotton made up half of American exports and constituted about 60% of the world’s supply of cotton. In addition, cotton stimulated the national economy in multiple ways. The growth in the supply of cotton promoted the Northern textile industry, while the funding and transportation of Southern cotton encouraged Northern banking and shipping. Also, Southern demand for Northern manufactured goods and Midwestern farm produce rose as a result of the profit gained from cotton. Because of its enormous effects on the American economy, cotton became known as “King Cotton” or “white gold”. However, the cotton gin also sparked the resurgence of Southern slavery, which had been in decline due to the drop in tobacco production. Ironically, Whitney had created the gin in part to help eliminate slavery by reducing the need for slaves to clean cotton (Benson 36). His plan backfired when the growing profitability of cotton actually increased the need for slaves to work as field hands. As Southern planters moved west to acquire more land for planting cotton, they brought their slaves along with them and even purchased more from the tobacco colonies of Maryland and Virginia (“Cotton Kingdom” 75). This shift westwards spread the plantation system of agriculture and rooted the institution of slavery as an integral part of the Southern economy. In short, the influence of the
In the south, the economy relied on the production of cotton so they could make and sell clothes. With the invention of the Cotton Gin, people in the south had brought in more slaves in order to produce more cotton. The North also produced cotton, they produced it in the Northwest. They had built mills to produce the cotton. The owners
A phrase commonly used to describe the economy in America during these time periods is “Cotton is King”. It was the first mass consumer commodity. It was also one of the world’s first luxury commodities, next to sugar and tobacco. Cotton also turned many black human beings into commodities themselves. Unfortunately, slavery was a key component in the production of cotton.
As more and more southerners became wealthier they bought more slaves to do the work. With more slaves, work was done faster (389). Lastly, the Spinning Mill was built and this helped the cotton industry because it spun raw cotton into thread (298). So weavers could use it to make
Throughout out history, one of the most used utilities were cotton for the creation of clothing and other important things. To narrow it down further, it has created clothing to keep individuals warm. In the United States, the cotton business was the last money yield used by subjection. On the very edge of the common war, the cotton business was the main impetus for the southern economy. The cotton business boomingly affected subjugation and was a primary generator of money related means for the south.
After seeing the struggle of removing the seeds, Eli decided that a machine was crucial to increase the production rate and the amount of exports. With the creation of the gin, the bar quickly rose from 1 pound of cotton to 50 pounds of cotton that could be cleaned per day. This allowed more slaves to work in the fields, rather than cleaning cotton, which resulted in the cost of cotton to decrease dramatically. Both the Northern states and Britain benefited from the growth of cotton because they could buy cotton at a cheaper price, expanding trade between them and the South. Before long, “cotton was the [official] “king” in South Carolina” and throughout the whole South (South Carolina Journey 119).
One technological development that influenced this growth was the invention of the cotton gin. The cotton gin is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, allowing for much greater productivity than manual cotton separation. “By midcentury America was growing three-quarters of the world’s supply of cotton.” (Doc 2). Most American cotton shipped to England or New England where it was manufactured into cloth and by the mid-1800s, the south provided three-fifths of America’s exports, most of it in cotton.
Between the 1820s and 1860s, a time period that was greatly influenced by the Industrial Revolution, people were willing to work hard so that they could provide for their families. Slaves were still being used to help develop the United States of America by harvest crops such as cotton, and please their “masters.” were forced to work and help develop the country. Both slavery and industry helped the country grow financially. Slaves had to work harder to meet higher cotton demands. The introduction of the cotton gin also aided in the aided in the rapid production of cotton (PIIP 9).
The industrial revolution completely changed America as we know it. It brought many changes to our nation- some good and some bad. The Industrial Revolution changed how we produce and consume goods. It was so groundbreaking that we still feel the effects today. Prominent inventions of the time are pictured in document 3.
With this new invention, a person could yield eight times as much cotton in one day versus the traditional method. It also made the Southern people more dependent on slavery than ever before. As more cotton could be produced in one day the need for slaves grew higher. No longer could the South due
Under a task system, slaves would be assigned several specific tasks for a particular day and when all their work was finished, the slaves could leave for the day. The expansion of the cotton dynasty carried millions of Americans to the southwest. Within fifty years the territorial size of the United States had nearly doubled as settlers were lured west in hopes of cheap land and rich natural resources. Southern plantations had become an important factor to economic success for both the United States and Southern economies. Plantations played a vital role in developing the world's global market by producing the four biggest cash crops: rice, cotton, tobacco, and sugar.
No matter your stance at the time, one thing became clear: socially, politically and economically, slavery was the fabric of American success and gave birth to the Old South as we know it today. At the center of the entire institution of slavery, and central to its defense, was the economic domination it provided a young country in international markets. In the early 19th century, cotton was a popular commodity and overtook sugar as the main crop produced by slave labor. The production of cotton became the nation’s top priority; America supplied ¾ of the cotton supply to the entire world.
It revolutionized the cotton industry by making it more profitable. A machine was now used to remove seeds from cotton rather than having to remove them by hand. This allowed more cotton to be processed quicker which made production of cotton more efficient for farmers. Prior to the invention of the cotton gin, slavery was actually dying out in the southern United States due to how labor intensive the removal of seeds from cotton had become.
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...”
Imagine if the cotton businesses had no slaves the Southerners would have to create their own factories, for example, if they did have to create their own industry, they would have to sell all their slaves and that’s one of the last things that they wanted to do. If the South had no slaves, they would have to do everything all by themselves. According to page 242 it says " planters would have had to sell slaves to raise the money to build factories, most wealthy southerners had their wealth invested in land and slaves. Planters would have had to sell slaves to raise the money to build factories. Most wealthy southerners were unwilling to do this.
The invention of the cotton gin decreased labor and increased the production of usable cotton and the demand for items being made from it. Advancements being made in both water and land transportation led to explosive growth in cities and factories; thus improving the national economy little by little. All in all, the revolution taking place in the Americas after the war of 1812 turned the nation into the successful, worldwide marketplace we know of