Between 1780 and 1800, slavery in the American south was on a steady decline. The traditional means of unit based production (i.e., one slave producing cotton by hand), was proving to be too inefficient of a system to maintain the economy. In 1794, however, Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin and greatly increased in production ability of slaves in the American south. This boom was singly responsible for the strengthening of the concept of slavery in the American south from 1800-1860.
