Question #10ee3

1 Answer
Jan 9, 2018

The cotton gin's main advantage was that it made the production of short staple cotton viable. The other advantage was it freed more slave labor to work in the fields growing cotton.

Explanation:

Before the invention of the cotton gin only long stable cotton could be practically grown for cloth production. The long stable cotton could only be grown in relative mild climates along the eastern seaboard parts of six states. This limited the geographic use of slave labor.

After the invention of the cotton gin short stable cotton varieties could be profitably grown for cloth production. The cotton gin was able to separate the short cotton fibers from the sticky green ball. The short stable variety could be grown in hotter climates making it possible to grow cotton thorough out the south. This greatly increased the geographic use of slave labor.

The cotton gin required only a few laborers to separate the cotton fibers from the cotton ball. This freed the most of the slave labor to work in the fields and grow more cotton. The cotton gin was a simple piece of machinery and easy to assembly. So easy that Eli Whitney did not receive much wealth as his invention was copied without payment.