Question

What impact did the cotton gin have on slavery?

A. It reduced the amount of slaves it took to harvest crops


B. The cotton gin allowed farmers to process more cotton in 24 hours, which increased the need for slaves


C. It sped up the process of producing cotton, which reduced the need for slaves


D. Slavery was not impacted by the cotton gin

Answer 1

While it was true that the cotton gin reduced the labor of removing seeds, it did not reduce the need for slaves to grow and pick the cotton. In fact, the opposite occurred. Cotton growing became so profitable for the planters that it greatly increased their demand for both land and slave labor.