Final answer:
Slavery was impractical in the North, but the cotton gin made it profitable in the South. The machine revolutionized cotton production, leading to increased demand for slave labor and the expansion of the cotton economy in the Southern United States.
Step-by-step explanation:
Slavery soon proved to be impractical in the North, but the invention of the cotton gin made it profitable in the South. The cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney in 1793, revolutionized the production of cotton by swiftly removing the seeds from the short staple cotton, which has shorter fibers and previously was not as economically viable due to the labor-intensive process of seed removal. The long staple cotton, more desirable for its long fibers and easy-to-remove seeds, could only be grown along the coast. Whitney's invention allowed inland planters to profit from the less-valuable short staple cotton by producing it in large quantities. The cotton gin increased the efficiency of cotton production, leading to a boom in the cotton industry and making short staple cotton dominant in the market. As a result, new territories in the Old Southwest like Alabama and Mississippi became deeply integrated into the expansion of the cotton economy and thus, the expansion of slavery. The growth of the cotton industry greatly increased the demand for slave labor, solidifying the practice in the South and contributing to the region's economic growth, which was inextricably linked with the practice of slavery.
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