Eli Whitney, born in 1765, had a mind toward inventing. His observations led him to invent not just the cotton gin but also the concept of mass production. Before the cotton gin, cotton was not all that profitable because it required intensive effort to remove the seeds from the cotton. Eli Whitney observed the problem slaves had cleaning the cotton by hand and solved it with his simple but ingenious machine. The cotton gin machine made growing cotton profitable because it cleaned the cotton without the need for someone to pull the seeds from each cotton boll. This led owners to put more land into cotton. This also meant the South fixated on cotton at the expense of other crops and industry. They were no longer self-sufficient.
Once growing cotton became a high-profit crop and planters planted more and more cotton, slavery and cotton became intertwined. Planters liked the idea of cheap labor. The more the cotton industry blossomed, the more acres the planters put into cotton. After all, they now had a machine that made cleaning the cotton a simple, efficient process. The more cotton they grew, the more laborers they required to plant, grow, harvest and run the cotton gin. The population of the South grew, but a great number of those living in the south were uneducated slaves. On the other hand, the North drew immigrants who sought new opportunities. The North also developed manufacturing around cotton sent North. The Civil War revealed the need not just for bodies, but men willing to fight and lead. Free men, even uneducated ones though many did know how to read at least a little, were motivated to fight for their country. Slaves had much to gain by defecting to the other side. The "Spartacus Educational" reported, "It is estimated that more than 400,000 immigrants served with the Union Army."
The North and South developed in very different ways with the South, because of cotton and the cotton gin, wedded to way of life that kept them from moving forward. They relied on their cotton, slaves and a class society. The North looked forward, encouraging commerce. Entrepreneurs found the North receptive to new ideas. When the Civil War broke out, the South found its way of life not only threatened, but also unable to compete against the North's variety of businesses and growing economy.
The North built textile mills to use the cotton. The South sank so much of its finances into the production of cotton, there was little left to build factories or improve transportation. This proved to be a huge problem during the Civil War, keeping the South from moving supplies and troops. The South held only the base product and not the manufacturing elements needed to sustain the war effort, which is why the South sought to sell more of its cotton abroad. According to the article "The Cotton Gin," "[The South] had no factories to produce goods and to become self sufficient when they separated from the North."