Final answer:
The cotton gin was a device invented by Eli Whitney in 1794 to speed up the production of cotton by cleaning the seeds from raw cotton more quickly and efficiently. It played a significant role in the South's cotton industry and had an impact on the issue of slavery.
Step-by-step explanation:
The cotton gin was an influential advancement of the early nineteenth century, invented by Eli Whitney and patented in 1794. It was a device that sped up the production of cotton by quickly and efficiently cleaning the seeds from raw cotton. The cotton gin was operated using a hand crank, which extracted the seeds through a carding device that aligned the cotton fibers for spinning.
Learn more about Cotton gin invention and its impact on the cotton industry and slavery