In the mid-1700s the way goods were made began to change. Industries became a startling revolution in the United States. This boom led to people leaving their homes and farms to go up North for new jobs.
The cotton gin was a machine that could remove the seeds from the cotton fiber rapidly and efficiently, With this said, the need for workers and labor increased. Follow this link to discuss how the cotton gin was a reason that led to the Civil War. The video will expand on the concept.
How do you feel about the invention of the cotton gin now? Good or bad invention?
The cotton gin is one reason that lead to the Civil War. The South provided about two-thirds of the world’s cotton supply because of the weather conditions needed to grow for cotton. The cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney in 1794, increased slavery in the South. It increased slavery because the cotton gin made the processing of cotton a lot faster, which made landowners buy larger plantations to plant more cotton. This caused landowners to need more slaves to work on their cotton plantations. When Abraham Lincoln became president, he wanted all states to be slave free. The South had many slaves and was completely dependent on slave-labor which is why the South succeeded from the Union. This is how the cotton gin lead to the Civil War. I feel that the cotton gin was a bad invention now because although it was made for a good use, it caused many problems. For example, it caused more slavery in the South and more work for slaves on cotton plantations. (words:170)
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ReplyDeleteWhen you think of the Civil War you think of several things. You might think of Abraham Lincoln, America, slavery, confederates, or something else, but have you ever thought of the cotton gin? The cotton gin, according to the beliefs of historians, may have been the cause of the war. This machine was invented by Eli Whitney in 1794. It revolutionized the cotton making business. In twenty years cotton production went from 750,000 bales to 2.85 million bales a year. Most of the cotton was made in the south because of the weather needed to grow cotton. This of course led to more slavery. Although this invention did cause many problems, I think it was still a good invention. It helped America and became the leading crop in America at the time. I also think that even if the cotton gin wasn't invented the Civil War still would've happened. Maybe later maybe earlier, but I still think it would've happened because their were several reasons for the war, not just the cotton gin. I mean even if Walt Disney hadn't made Pinocchio, he still would've been famous, maybe later maybe earlier, but he still would've been famous. (199)
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ReplyDeleteIn 1830, ( before the gin ) The United States roughly produced 750,000 bales of cotton. However, by 1850 the amount of cotton increased to 2.85 million bales! Harvesting cotton was a hard, intensive labor. It would take slaves hours and hours and hours to pick cotton. That is when the cotton gin was made. This machine made picking the seeds out of cotton go a lot faster. In 1794, Eli Whitney invented the gin. By 1850 the tool had changed the face of Southern agriculture. Many experts trace the deaths of more than 600,000 U.S. citizens on Civil War battlefields to an older cause which is the cotton gin. The cotton gin can be a good and a bad invention at the same time. In my above sentence, more than 600,000 U.S. citizens were found dead. That is a definitely a bad thing. Another bad thing is that the gin produced a larger amount of cotton so that increased the amount of slaves. We are trying to decrease the amount of slaves here people ( even though some people wanted more slaves ) ! The cotton gin was also one of the things that led to the Civil War. Even if the cotton gin was not created, I think the Civil War still would have happened. I mean, some people wanted slaves some people did not! That to me is a sign of war. Anyhow, the cotton gin can be both a good thing and a bad thing, but in my opinion, it was a bad things because it caused more slaves. (263)
ReplyDeleteThere is not just one theories people believe as to why the Civil war started. But most are based off the fear of Southerners thinking that America would turn to being anti-slavery. One theory as to why this all came about is based on the invention of the cotton gin. The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney in 1794, but by 1850 it had changed Southern agriculture drastically. With this invention cotton was being produced much more rapidly than it had ever been before. This caused people to go to the North for more jobs. And the slave population rose tremendously to almost two-thirds of the population of America. (110)
ReplyDeleteAt first i thought the cotton gin was a fantastic idea. Then i realized some of the down sides when i read the article. The BIGGEST problem was the slavery. Because the cotton gin was invented it required more people, or usually slaves, to work it! This was wrong because the the slave population had increased about five times in the first half of the 19th Century! i believe the American slave owners new deep down that slavery was wrong, but to them the thought this was normal. The cotton gin over all was a great invention that had flaws. But in my opinion i think it was a good idea. (111)
ReplyDeletei use to think the cotton gin was a good invention but as i read the article and watched the video i began to think this maid slavery wors. it made the plantation owners buy more land and more slaves, because they could pick more cotton and insted of having to pick the seeds out they could just put it in the gin. the cotton gin made the slaves work a little bit easier but in the same way harder they would have to work longer hours. so the cotton gin if used correctly was a good thing but the way it was used it was a bad invention (109)
ReplyDeleteThe cotton gin was supposed to be an amazing invention, but it turned out to have some bad things. It required multiple workers, and it was dangerous, which immediately made it only "safe" for slaves to work it. also, slaves were being killed more because of it being dangerous and the slave population sky rocketed in 1800s. it did change agriculture a lot, and it allowed for clothes and cotton to be cheaper, but it was very costly. it was good though. it did increase jobs, it did allow for more workers to get payed, it did allow for cheaper cotton, it did allow for over 600,000 deaths, but it was still a good invention. I believe it was a great idea and that without it, we wouldn't be who we are today.
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The cotton gin made the cotton industry of the south explode. Before the invention, separating cotton fibers from its seeds was a labor intensive and unprofitable venture. But , after Eli Whitney unveiled the cotton gin, procesing cotton became much easier resulting in greater availability and cheaper close. The invention also had the by-product of increasing the number of slaves needed to pick the cotton so now the reason for slavery was even greater. Cotton as a cash crop became so important that it was known as King Cotton and affected politics up until the Civil War. It was also very unsafe. There was often very harsh conditions and it took a lot of people to work.
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I think the cotton gin was a good invention. The Southerners didn’t have to use slave. There were roughly 1.5 million Irish immigrants that came to the US in the 1820’s to 1840’s. Add that to the Germans, and the other immigrants, you will have the slave population. The immigrants were looking for work no matter how cheap (But probably not free labor). In my eyes, the cotton gin did not cause the Civil War. The stubbornness of the South did. The cotton gin made the US a lot of money. The South was producing 2/3 of the world’s cotton. Because of the cotton gin, America was able to lessen the debt. So in short, the cotton gin was a good invention.(122)
ReplyDeleteAmong a lot of other reasons for the civil war the Cotten gen was one of the biggest and here is why. During this time tobacco and cotton were the biggest cash crops of the south, and the way they picked them was by using slaves. The north didn't believe in slaves as much as the south did because they didn't need them as much because they didn't have plantations that needed a bunch of slaves they had factories with paid employees. The reason the cotton gen helped lead to the civil war is because the need for slaves went up even more the south thought that they were entitled to them while the north thought that this was even worse than it was before. And that is how it helped form the civil war.
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Most people think about the Union, Confederates, and slavery when topic is the Civil War. Slavery was the one of the biggest reasons for why the South seceded. However, not many know that cotton gin was one of the reasons how the war began. The cotton gin caused over 600,000 people to lose their lives. The cotton gin caused the slave population in the South to increase. It made slavery a bigger issue for United States. It was a good invention for agriculture but bad for the slaves and economy. So I feel the cotton gin was a good idea just not to use on slaves. It would be better if the never had the idea to use slave.(119)
ReplyDeleteThe Civil War was to be made clear that the fact was that keeping slavery the same was the motivation for Southerners in 1860 and 1861. Eli Whitney invented the gin in 1794. This tool changed the face of southern agriculture. The reason that this was an issue in the civil war is because the need for more cotton meant the need for more slaves. The slave population in the United States increased nearly fivefold in the first half of the nineteenth century. Between the conflict in the 1820 to 1850s regarding new states and slavery Lincolns election who southerners thought to be anti-slavery. The cotton states of the south chose to succeed seems far less surprising.(117)
ReplyDeleteDuring the1800s, cotton was the most popular product in the south. The quantity continued to increase even further when Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin--a device that removed seeds from cotton. With a faster process for taking the seeds out of the plant, the numbers and size of cotton plantations grew. As you know, cotton and just about every other crops were and still are grown in the south because of the natural agricultural environment. So southerners bought slaves to speed up their process (and because they were too lazy to do it themselves), but with this new invention and the bigger plantations, the white citizens bought even more slaves to harvest the crops. Around the 1850s Abraham Lincoln was elected president, and he was viewed (because he pretty much was) an anti-slavery man. This made the southerners from South Carolina want to secede from the US, which led to the south attacking Fort Sumter, which led to a Civil War--ALL because one man in charge was against slaves, who were working on cotton farms, which were growing in population because of a machine that allowed produce to be made faster. (193)
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