WORLDS APART Causes of Tension between the North and South

Cotton An Important Crop in the South Cotton is a natural vegetable fiber of great economic importance as a raw material for cloth. Its widespread use is largely due to the ease with which its fibers are spun into yarns. Cotton's strength, absorbency, and capacity to be washed and dyed also make it adaptable to a considerable variety of textile products. Cotton is easy to grow but because it was so difficult to clean, cotton was not a cash crop. Tobacco and indigo were the South’s cash crops. Tobacco is difficult to grow. Tobacco wears out the land and the land must be given a rest once every 7 years. But cotton can grow anywhere, even on land that is drained of its nutrients

INVENTION OF THE COTTON GIN Slavery grew in the South after the invention of the cotton gin. The cotton gin, invented in 1793 by Eli Whitney, was designed to separate raw cotton fibers from seeds and other foreign materials prior to baling and marketing. The design was so efficient that it remains virtually unchanged to the present day.

After the invention of the cotton gin southern farmers wanted more slave to work in their cotton fields. Cotton became the South’s most important crop, and the by 1840 the South was growing most of the world’s cotton. Main Idea: Slavery grew in the South after the invention of the cotton gin. SUPPORTING DETAILS After the invention of the cotton gin farmers were able to plant more cotton.

How the cotton gin worked. The cotton gin was a very simple invention. First, the cotton bolls were put into the top of the machine. Next, you turn the handle, which turns the cotton through the wire teeth that combs out the seeds. Then the cotton is pulled out of the wire teeth and out of the cotton gin.

MAIN IDEA Slavery became a source of deep conflict between the North and South. SUPPORTING DETAILS Many southerners thought slavery was too important to their economy to give up. Some northerners believed that slavery was unfair and wrong. Delegates at the Continental Congress could not agree to end slavery.

Main Idea Sometimes enslaved people fought against slave-owners. Supporting Details Nat Turner led a rebellion against slave owners in Virginia in During Nat Turner’s Rebellion 59 people were killed.

THOUGHT QUESTION THOUGHT QUESTIONS 1.What led to the growth of slavery in the early 1800’s? 2.How did the different economies of the North and South lead to conflict between the North and South? 3.What do you think might have happened if the cotton gin had not been invented?