Slavery in America North and South were being brought together (slavery in the South was disappearing (sorta)) BUT Eli Whitney?s cotton gin destroyed that :( Before cotton gin 1 pound of cotton/day - 1 worker After 10 pounds/day - 1 worker North was part of Industrial Revolution - South grew more dependent on slavery South and Britain were close cotton was Britain?s most important manufactured product South?s dependence (on cotton) had problems: harmful to the land one-crop system very few immigrants ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Slave owners did everything in their power to ensure that slaves did not cross the line separating whites from blacks