Cotton Gin Invented — Slavery's Westward Expansion Accelerated

Eli Whitney's cotton gin made short-staple cotton cultivation vastly profitable, transforming slavery from a system in perceived economic decline to one with explosive growth potential. Cotton production in the US grew from 3,000 bales in 1790 to 4 million bales by 1860. The gin dramatically increased demand for enslaved labor, accelerated westward expansion of slavery, and made the internal slave trade the dominant form of forced migration in America.