Changes Brought by the Cotton Gin and Division of Labor
In the first half of the 19th century, an emerging retail market would profoundly affect the lives of the nation’s working people. While the South underwent a tremendous expansion in cotton production, the North experienced an improved method of production.
How did the cotton gin change the lives of southern slaves and poor whites? How did the division of labor, as Smith and Tocqueville observed, change the nature of work for northern artisans and journeymen?
Conclude your paper by evaluating the degree to which workers shared in the nation’s prosperity.
Support your argument with evidence from class readings (Modules 6, 7, 8, & 9). Use proper in-text citations, citing the author’s last name and page number when quoting directly and paraphrasing from the readings. Follow MLA style for in-text citations and works cited page. When citing Smith and Tocqueville, state their last names and the paragraph number (e.g. Smith, para. 4). Use the format below for Smith and Tocqueville in your works cited page, in addition to the other assigned readings:
De Tocqueville, Alexis. How an Aristocracy May Be Created by Manufactures http://xroads(dot)virginia(dot)edu/~HYPER/DETOC/ch2_20.htm
Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations http://www(dot)wsu(dot)edu/~dee/ENLIGHT/WEALTH1.HTM
All papers must be typed, double-spaced throughout and five (5) pages in length, each numbered with standard one-inch margins and size 12 font. Respect the page limit. Correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation matter. Use only those sources that have been assigned and discussed in class; do not use any other sources, especially those from the Internet.
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Changes Brought by the Cotton Gin and Division of Labor
Cotton farming in America was among the major economic activities during the 18th and 19th centuries. This was the period of active slavery, and the enslaved people provided cheap and reliable labor in cotton farms. In 1794, Eli Whitney patented his invention of an engine to help escalate cotton farming. The machine helped fasten the process of separating the fiber from the cotton seed. This was a milestone in cotton farming in America, and its effects were felt by the farm owners, the workers and the industries that depended on cotton as their raw materials. It further led to the division of labor that changed the nature of work for the Northern artisans and the journeymen. This article categorizes these effects into those aligned to the cotton gin and the division of labor. Those impacting the cotton gin include the transformation of cotton production, intensification of slave labor and demoralization of southern white labor. On the other hand, those that align with the division of labor include division of labor as elaborated by Adam Smith and Tocqueville, the workers organizing and engaging in collective bargaining, the emergence of the bastard artisan system, and bespoke work.
Patenting Whitney's machine transformed cotton production in America. For a long time, cotton farming depended entirely on hand processes where the workers used their hands to separate the fiber from the cotton seeds. This was a hectic process that slowed down cotton production because people could work at a specified speed for a specific time. The hands also got worn out, and the pain valued by wear and tear affected workers' productivity in cotton fields. However, the machine introduced revolutionary changes in the cotton fields. Clark (273) argues that short-staple cotton was grown widely, and slaves used a substantial time separating the fiber from seeds, negatively affecting profitability. It also helped the workers work on more workloads within a shorter period, increasing productivity. Therefore, the machine transformed cotton production, increasing production and enabling cotton farmers to make more income.
Cotton gin intensified slave labor, which was cheap and readily available in America. Cotton farming is labor-intensive, especially because the fiber has to be separated from the seeds. Cotton farmers utilize the available labor to work on their farms to achieve maximum revenue. This was the case before patenting the cotton gin because separating the fiber from the cotton seed was done manually, and it needed reliable and efficient labor to handle it. Reliable and efficient, in this case, meant ready, cheap and controllable labor. Before the introduction of the cotton gin, the white and the enslaved people provided labor. However, the introduction of the cotton gin intensified slave labor and sidelined the white labor force. Enslaved people provided cheap labor. Instead of paying them wages, the masters fed the slaves, provided a place to shelter with their families and guaranteed medical services. As opposed to the white labor force, who were paid for their services, the slave labor force provided cheap labor. According to Clark (295), punishment like whipping was used to make the enslaved people work harder instead of rewarding them. The introduction of the cotton gin meant that the labor force could be reduced, and the appropriate labor force to retain was the slaves. In return, most farmers bought slaves to work on their farms, further intensifying the slave trade.
The introduction of the cotton gin also led to the demoralization of southern white labor who could not work on cotton farms because it was work considered to be for enslaved people, the lowest in the societal hierarchy. The cotton gin promoted slave labor which was often cheaper. In the south, labor in cotton farms, especially before the introduction of the cotton gin, relied on enslaved people and white labor. Enslaved people were the lowest people in the hierarchy who lived under the control of their masters. They worked forcedly in the cotton farms and were sold and bought extensively depending on the individual needs of the cotton farmers (Clark 295). This demoralized the white laborers who were willing to work on cotton farms. The job was no longer seen as respectable because of the enslaved people; white people doing it would be viewed as lowering their dignity (Merritt 68).
As Adam Smith and Tocqueville elaborated, the cotton gin led to the division of labor, with different people working in different stations for effectiveness. Adam Smith's argument on economic growth is anchored o...