In the late 18th century, cotton was a large part of the Southern economy, but it was not considered the definitive staple.  Growing cotton was an easy enough task, but the process of separating cotton fibers from seeds was difficult and time consuming when done by hand.  As the 18th century came to a close, one invention would solve this problem and make cotton the face of the South’s economy.

On this day, March 14th, in 1794, Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin.  Whitney’s cotton gin consisted of a wire screen with hooks that pulled cotton through, as brushes continuously removed cotton lint at the rate of 50 pounds per day.  In the decades after the cotton gin was introduced, cotton production in the United States boomed.  From 1830 to 1850, production of cotton in the South grew from 750,000 bales to 2.85 million bales.  Cotton production grew at such a rate that by 1860, the South provided two-thirds of the world’s cotton supply.

Eli Whitney’s invention also had the unintentional effect of revitalizing the need for slave labor in the South.  Prior to the cotton gin, the slow cotton separating process translated into the number of slaves in the U.S. remaining fairly constant.  The ease and high output of the cotton gin motivated more southern states to start growing cotton as well, which lead to an increase in slave states and the total number of slaves.