The cotton gin led to a massive expansion of slavery in the American South. Eli Whitney's invention in 1793 automated the labor-intensive process of separating cotton fibers from seeds, vastly increasing production. Cotton production grew from 13,000 bales in 1792 to over 1 million bales by 1840. The demand for slave labor to cultivate and pick cotton grew tremendously, reversing the expectation that slavery would die out, and the South became increasingly dependent on the institution of slavery to maintain its economy. By 1860 over 4 million slaves, making up over 1/3 of the population in the Southern states, were kept as human property to support the cotton industry.

1. King Cotton Slavery Explodes

2. Slavery Many felt it would die out on it’s own Free labor was generally more profitable Why? What happened? Why didn’t it die out on it’s own?

3. King Cotton 1820 - South’s #1 Crop Sea Island Delicate - Best Quality Upland Hearty - Hard to separate

4. Cotton

5. Cotton Picking Slave - 200 lbs. per day Separate - 1lb. per day Until? Cotton Gin - Eli Whitney

6. Eli Whitney

7. Cotton Gin

10. Cotton Gin Separate 50 - 1,000 lbs. More cotton is grown 1792 - 13,000 bales 1840 - 1 Million bales Slavery becomes more and more important

11. Slavery By 1860 Over 1/3 the Southern population 4 million slaves Some states passed laws against freeing slaves Increased value

16. Slavery Lower South 2.3 million – 47% of total population Upper South 1.2 million – 29% of total population Border States 432,000 – 13% of total population *1860 Census

17. Slavery Cotton was considered the perfect crop for slavery Why? Kept them busy year round Clearing land, Planting, Cultivating, Harvesting,

22. Slavery Different Tasks Most were Field Hands House Servants Skilled Carpentry, masonry, etc.

23. Slave Tag

26. Slavery Physically Treated Well? Some say Yes Valuable Beatings Rare What about Overseers? Fear?

27. Punishments

28. Whip Scars

29. Underground Railroad Safe-houses & people helping runaway slaves Conductors Harriet Tubman Josiah Henson Levi Coffin

31. Harriet Tubman Escaped in 1849 Made 19 trips back into the South Helped over 300 slaves escape

32. Grandma Moses

33. Free Blacks - North Social Equality? No Segregation Fewer opportunities Education Jobs

34. Legal Equality? No Couldn’t vote, hold public office, Treated as second-class people Free Blacks - North

35. Abolitionists Abolition Movement to outlaw slavery Frederick Douglass most famous Why?

36. Douglass Former Slave Escaped Excellent Speaker First-hand information about slavery

38. Abolitionists Others William Lloyd Garrison Immediate Emancipation vs. Gradual Emancipation

39. Abolitionists What did they accomplish? Not the abolition of slavery – yet That will take the Civil War to accomplish!