Question

How did the cotton gin make upland farming profitable

Answer 1

The cotton gin made upland farming profitable by making the cleaning of cotton significantly faster and easier.

Further Explanation:

The cotton gin was an invention developed by Eli Whitney in 1798. This important piece of machinery forever changed the institution of slavery within the United States.

Before the invention of the cotton gin, farmers mainly focused on planting food and tobacco. After the invention of the cotton gin, Southern states focused almost solely on cotton. This is due to the fact that cotton came be used for so many different products.

The cotton gin revolutionized the process of cleaning cotton. Before this invention, cleaning the seeds from cotton was a tedious and extremely difficult task. Most slaves and farmers could clean about 1-2 pounds of cotton today. However, after the creation of the cotton gin, slaves and farmers could produce anywhere from 50-100 pounds of cotton in a day. This machine used a crank system and sharp teeth to easily remove the seeds from the cotton.

This machine actually increased the desire for slavery in southern parts of the US. Ultimately, this issue of slavery would be one that helped lead America into the Civil War.

Learn More:

Cotton Gin and its impact on the American economy- brainly.com/question/3033707

Key Details:

Topic: American History

Grade Level: 7-12

Keywords: cotton gin, Eli Whitney, slavery

Answer 2

Farmers were able to plant more cotton.  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. 
Now that cotton is easier to clean and since it grows easily, cotton became the number one cash crop in the South.  The farmers needed more land to grow cotton.  They took the land from the Native Americans.  The farmers needed more workers.  Slaves were the free labor that the farmers needed to harvest the cotton.