Question

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In the early 1800s, the number of African people held captive in slavery grew dramatically in southern states such as Georgia. What contributed the most to this trend?

A.
the development of the steam engine

B.
the industrialization of the South

C.
the invention of the cotton gin

D.
the electrification of rural areas

Answer 1

C. the invention of the cotton gin

Eli Whitney’s cotton gin (1793) made processing short-staple cotton profitable across the Deep South, dramatically expanding cotton plantations and the demand for enslaved labor.