The Cotton Gin
Andrea Brecheen

The cotton gin was one of the most amazing and tragic inventions of early America. The cotton gin is credited to the brilliant and creative American inventor Eli Whitney. Because Whitney's invention made cotton harvesting easier, it allowed farmers in the South to increase production. The cotton gin simplified the process of removing the cotton from the seeds, a process formerly done by hand.

As a result, Southern plantations increased their production of cotton from 750,000 bales in 1830 to 2.85 million bales just 20 years later. Because of the increase in production, the farmers in South became even more dependent on cotton for revenue. This new reliance on cotton increased the need for slavery. More slaves were needed to farm the ever expanding cotton plantations. If Whitney had known the effects his invention would have on slavery, he never would have created it.

Which of the following would best support the author's claim that more slaves were needed after the invention of the cotton gin? (7 points)

Examples of other inventions that affected slaves' lives
Information related to the life and times of Eli Whitney
Stories of the first time people saw the cotton gin working in the field
Details about the number of slaves working cotton 20 years after the cotton gin