Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin

Eli Whitney worked at a plantation near Savannah and watched slaves separate seeds from the cotton fibers by hand. This was a long and difficult process. He invented the cotton gin, a machine that could separate seeds from the cotton fibers.

Cotton is King

After the invention of the cotton gin, cotton soon became the largest crop grown in the South (tobacco 2nd). The land lottery opened up large areas of the Piedmont for agriculture. By 1860, the invention of the cotton gin increased the production and demand of cotton and the use of slaves to nearly 500,000 slaves working in Georgia's fields.

Railroads

Railroads were used to transport cotton from plantations to Georgia’s port cities. Most of Georgia’s railroad track belonged to the Western and Atlantic Railroad company. The railroad began in Chattanooga and ended in Terminus (present-day Atlanta). 

*Georgia had more miles of RR track than any other state! 

The History of ATL's Name Changes

Terminus (1842)– Means end of the line of the Western and Atlantic Railroad line.

Marthasville (1845) – Named for the late daughter of Governor Wilson Lumpkin.

Atlanta (1847) – Name changed for the Atlantic part of the Western and Atlantic Railroad.

Georgia's Capital On the Move!

Georgia's capital has moved 5 times!

S - Savannah (1st capital in 1733)

A - Augusta (1776) moved away from the coast, allowing more access for people moving west

L - Louisville (1796) considered a compromise between Savannah and Augusta

M - Milledgeville (1807) a malaria outbreak/continued western expansion caused move

A - Atlanta (1868) railroads converged here

Remember: SALMA