Question

Which of the following explains the increase in demand for enslaved people in the early 1800s?
A. The cotton gin made it easier to produce cotton, requiring more enslaved people to work on plantations.
B. Harvesting cotton took a long time so plantation owners needed more enslaved people.
C. States in the North, such as New York and New Jersey, that were primarily free states legalized slavery in the early 1800s.
D. There was an increase in enslaved people coming overseas from the continent of Africa.

Answer 1

A. The cotton gin made it much easier and profitable to process short‑staple cotton, fueling a huge expansion of cotton plantations and thus sharply increasing the demand for enslaved labor.