Cotton Gin Invention by: Mina Howell

1. Cotton Gin Invention by: Mina Howell The south’s economy was agricultural. Tobacco, rice, sugarcane and indigo were major cash crops. Their was one crop that had a lot of potential, but not until a way was found to clean the seeds out of the material. This was cotton. By the early 1790’s the use of slaves had begun to decline. There were not enough tasks to be done. Salve owners were no longer buying and some were even letting their slaves run free. But then a young Yale graduate named Eli Whitney came to tutor on a plantation. When he say the tedious work of cleaning cotton he had an idea! What if he could build a machine to pick the seeds out of the cotton? Whitney set to work and six months later the machine was invented. It was called a Cotton Gin and using it a laborer could clean as much cotton as 50 laborers hand picking the seeds out of the cotton. Across the South cotton was grown. Cotton sales went through the roof! And to produce all of this cotton people were needed to do the work. Slaves were now In high demand! This invention made slavery more important than ever. Between 1790 and 1850, the number of slaves in the South rose from 500,000 to more than 3,000,000. When land became bad for growing cotton people moved west to use the fertile land. The cotton gin became an invention that might have been part of the start of the civil war.

2. Recipe for: The Cotton Gin Inventionby: Mina Howell • Measure out the 16 states of the south, 1 cup of cash crops and 2 cups of unpicked cotton • Throw them I a pot and put them on a soft boil for 1 hour • Get out a teaspoon of slavery and 1 Eli Whitney, put it in a bowl and beat until creamy and whipped, you have now made the creamy frosting • 30 minutes into the boiling of the ingredients Add three teaspoons of thinking one cotton gin and 50 cups of slaves to the boiling pot • After the hour take out the boiling ingredients and beat them into a batter then bake them in the oven for 20 minutes in a metal dish • Take out the cake and let it cool until warm • Spread the whipped frosting on the cake and sprinkle , 3 cups of pink picked cotton atop the frosting. You have now baked a Cotton Gin Cake!