Invented in 1793, the cotton gin changed history for good and bad. By allowing one field hand to do the work of 10, it powered a new industry that brought wealth and power to the American South -- but, tragically, it also multiplied and prolonged the use of slave labor. Kenneth C. Davis lauds innovation, while warning us of unintended consequences.
Comment on: What was the “peculiar institution"?
According to Davis, a person could clean how much cotton by hand in a day?
Is there anything that has made your life easier, but you feel uncomfortable about it? An SUV instead of a hybrid? Disposable plastic as opposed to a reusable container? Describe this innovation and explain how you justify the personal dilemma.
You may think that things are heated in Washington today, but the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 had members of Congress so angry they pulled out their weapons -- and formed the Republican Party. The issues? Slavery and states' rights, which led the divided nation straight into the Civil War. Ben Labaree, Jr. explains how Abraham Lincoln's party emerged amidst the madness.
Comment on: In the 1850s, most white northerners were not abolitionists and yet there was widespread opposition in the North to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Why? Why did collapse of the Second Party System make political compromise between North and South less likely? When and how did other developments of the 1850s heighten sectional tensions?
