By: Diana Go Luis Badillo The Cotton Boom By: Diana Go Luis Badillo
Eli Whitney Invented a machine for cleaning cotton in 1793 (December 8, 1765 – January 8, 1825) was an American inventor best known for inventing the cotton gin
Cotton Gin (short for “engine”) Made the cotton cleaning process for more efficient A worker could clean just 1 pound of cotton in a day With the new machine, one worker can clean 50 pounds of cotton in a day
When the cotton gin grew in popularity more people with cotton farms got more slaves to work to collect cotton
It made short-fibered cotton a commercial product The cotton gin helped set the South on a different course of development from the North It made short-fibered cotton a commercial product Changed the Southern life in 4 important ways It triggered many people moving west. Cotton spread to the Northern Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Also crossed into Louisiana and Arkansas. In 1840, they reached Texas Cotton was valuable so more people increased there cotton farms than any other crops When cotton farms started moving more native Americans were driven off there lands Cotton farm required many worker so they brought more slaves
Sites http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/cotton- gin-and-eli-whitney http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Whitney