Westward Expansion of Cotton Production
The Westward Expansion of Cotton Production Originally there were six states in 1790. ... Cotton then became the dominant crop and more of it was in demand. In fact, cotton became so popular that it basically displaced the importance of tobacco, rice, and indigo. The only disadvantage about the cotton was that it was very difficult to remove the seeds. In the year 1793, a man named Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin (Faragher 312). The cotton gin was a machine used to extract seeds from fiber. With cotton being the most dominant crop in a rapidly expanding South, the invention of the cotton gin pushed expansion further westward (Faragher 312). Soon after the cotton gin was invented, more inland regions of Georgia and South Carolina began growing cotton (Faragher 312). The rapid cotton growing changed the economy greatly and lead to expansion. Growing cotton was most suitable in fertile soil. Therefore, Americans migrated westward to look for new land (Faragher 312).