Question
What was the main negative impact of the invention of the cotton gin?
It created pollution because it was powered by fuel.
It caused massive population growth in the Southern states.
It increased the demand for slaves and made slaves more valuable.
It required interchangeable parts which were expensive to produce.
It created pollution because it was powered by fuel.
It caused massive population growth in the Southern states.
It increased the demand for slaves and made slaves more valuable.
It required interchangeable parts which were expensive to produce.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The main negative impact of the invention of the cotton gin was that **it increased the demand for slaves and made slaves more valuable**. The cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney in 1793, significantly boosted cotton production by making it easier to separate cotton fibers from seeds. This led to a dramatic expansion of cotton agriculture in the Southern United States, which in turn created a greater demand for slave labor to cultivate and harvest the cotton, entrenching and exacerbating the institution of slavery in the region.