Final answer:
The invention of the cotton gin increased the need for slaves as it improved the efficiency of processing cotton fibers.
Step-by-step explanation:
The invention of the cotton gin, created by Eli Whitney and patented in 1794, revolutionized the cotton industry in the early nineteenth century. This invention increased the need for d) Slaves as it made the process of extracting seeds from cotton fibers faster and more efficient. With the cotton gin, cotton production increased significantly, and the demand for enslaved labor to cultivate and harvest cotton grew as well.
The invention of the cotton gin increased the need for slaves. Eli Whitney's invention made growing and processing short staple cotton profitable, escalating the dependence on enslaved labor in the Southern economy to meet the burgeoning demand for cotton during the cotton revolution.
The invention of the cotton gin increased the need for slaves. Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin in 1793 greatly expedited the process of removing seeds from short staple cotton, which in turn made it profitable to grow this type of cotton in large quantities. As Americans expanded into the Old Southwest and found the soil suitable to grow short-staple cotton, and as cotton's price rose on the international market, the demand for labor to handle the increased production of cotton skyrocketed. Consequently, the Southern economy became even more reliant on enslaved labor as the demand for cotton fueled the need for increased production and, therefore, a larger enslaved workforce.
The irony of Whitney's invention was that although it was intended to reduce the need for labor-intensive processing, it had the opposite effect on the institution of slavery. As the cotton revolution spurred the Southern economy, the number of slaves and the dependence on slave labor grew significantly. This reliance on enslaved labor seeds the expansion of slavery in the South, as plantation owners sought to produce more cotton to buy more slaves 'ad infinitum'.