CLEP Western Civ II

Answer: B - The invention of the cotton gin in America spurred technological developments in textile manufacturing, particularly the application of the steam engine to factory machines. Before Eli Whitney's invention, the processing of cotton had been too inefficient to be profitable. However, the improved process of separating the seed from the fiber made cotton a viable crop for mass production. It also revived the plantation system and further entrenched slavery in the American South, which, along with India, became an essential part of Britain's industrial economy.