How did the invention of the cotton gin impact slavery in the Antebellum south??

Question

How did the invention of the cotton gin impact slavery in the Antebellum south??

Answer 1

It made cotton a more viable commodity and initially increased the need for slaves as more land was set aside for cotton production.  But natural increases in the slave population exceeded the need for cotton cultivation (because the cotton gin after all was a labor-saving device) and Southern leaders realized that more land would be needed for more cotton and the burgeoning slave population. This is partly the reason that Southern political leaders very much favored the extension of slavery into the territories.  

Answer 2

Slavery was losing economically viability in the south because slaves could only remove cotton seeds at a slow pace. It was almost as easy for a farmer to remove it himself. The gin allowed the seeds to be removed automatically and increased the amount of cotton processed daily by an exorbitant amount. Slavery was, again, an economic necessity.