In 1793, _________________________________ invented the cotton gin, a machine that quickly and easily separated cotton fibers from their seeds.

This invention made it _________________________________ to process cotton, turning it into a profitable crop.

Before the cotton gin, it was difficult to grow and process cotton in large quantities, especially in areas with poorer soil like _____________________________

With the cotton gin, cotton could now be ____________________, and plantations began to spread into the Upcountry, an area that was previously not as suitable for large-scale cotton farming.

As cotton plantations spread and cotton farming became more profitable, there was a ____________________ for labor to plant, tend, and harvest the cotton.

________________________in South Carolina turned to enslaved Africans to meet this labor demand, leading to a significant increase in the slave population.

The success of the ________________________ made it the dominant cash crop in South Carolina, meaning it was the main crop grown to sell for profit.

This ______________________ on cotton and the use of enslaved labor to grow it caused the number of enslaved people in South Carolina to grow rapidly.

Cause: The invention of the cotton gin allowed plantations to spread into South Carolina's Upcountry.