History of the United States I / Unit 12 USH1 1652 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Cotton Gin's Consequence
Captions available
The idea
Whitney's gin of seventeen ninety-four let one enslaved worker remove seeds from fifty pounds of cotton a day, against one pound by hand.
In practice
A fiftyfold increase in the bottleneck stage of production.
Where people slip
Unit 09 covers the invention. This unit covers what it did, which was to make short-staple cotton profitable and slavery far more valuable.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it · Sources for History of the United States I