Question

In what way did the cotton gin affect the South?

Land under production declined.
Cotton became the principal southern crop.
Southern attitudes about slavery hardened.
Prosperity reached most of the Southern population.
Enslaved labor became more important and valuable.

Answer 1

True:
- Cotton became the principal southern crop — the gin made short‑staple cotton profitable and drove a huge expansion of cotton planting.
- Southern attitudes about slavery hardened — the booming cotton economy increased Southern political and social commitment to slavery.
- Enslaved labor became more important and valuable — demand for field hands rose and the domestic slave trade expanded.

False:
- Land under production declined — it increased as planters pushed into new lands (the Deep South and Old Southwest).
- Prosperity reached most of the Southern population — wealth was concentrated among plantation owners; many small farmers and non‑slaveholders did not share the same prosperity.