How Did Slavery Change Between 1800 And 1860

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Between 1800 and 1860 the nation under went a massive change not only within its own boarders but on a worldly stance. The nation went from being a new immature country to having power around the globe. This uprising was based on the demand for American crops to feed the textile needs in Great Britain. Along with the feeding of the textile needs in Britain Americas need for cheap labor led to one of the darkest time in the nations history. To understand slavery in America you have to start at the beginning of the creation of the country. During the Constitutional Convention in 1787 there was debate weather or not slavery would be allowed in the new Union. Slave states such as South Carolina were against the abolishment of slavery because they needed the cheap labor on their farms. At the time slavery wasn’t every large and many of the Convention members …show more content…

In the 1790’s textiles were made available to the masses at an affordable price because of technological inventions in Great Britain. This explosion in textiles led to Americans moving south to buy cheap land and start the production of cotton plantations. While the new plantation owners were able to produce the cotton, it was still very hard and time consuming to separate the cotton fibers from the seeds. While visiting a Southern plantation in Eli Whitney began to think of an invention that could efficiently handle the task. In 1793 Whitney released his idea for the Cotton Gin which could rapidly separate the cotton fibers and seeds. Whitney’s new invention partnered with the demand from Britain resulted in the dramatic increase of cotton production in America. The swift increase in cotton ultimately resulted in the need for more cheap labor to keep up with the demand. From 1800 to 1860 American cotton production skyrocketed from 156,000 bales to 4,000,000 bales. Subsequently, the slave population raised from 900,000 to 4,000,000 in the

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