Sectionalism in the United States — Unit test

Question 17 • DRHS GA-GSE US History A

How did technological innovations in textile mills affect the practice of using enslaved workers?

Answer

Faster and cheaper production of cloth raised demand for cotton plants, which increased the need for enslaved workers.

Increase of machinery in textile mills meant that large numbers of enslaved workers were needed to run the machines.

As the number of machines in textile mills increased, the number of enslaved workers declined.

New technologies enabled more cloth to be made from less cotton, decreasing the number of enslaved workers on plantations.

Explanation

Textile-mill innovations made cloth production faster and cheaper, increasing the demand for cotton. Plantation owners responded by growing more cotton, which increased the demand for enslaved labor to plant and harvest it. The machines in the mills did not require large numbers of enslaved workers to operate them; the increased labor demand was on the cotton plantations.

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