Southern History Series: The Cotton Gin

Editor’s Note: This is a work in progress.

I will be traveling over the next two days. These articles will be fleshed out later.

I have two simple questions for the folks who believe we should focus on social issues rather than economics and technological change as if there was some kind of opposition between the two.

I think that is silly because the current state of technology, our environment and economy is inseparable from our politics, culture and social order. The two are intertwined.

1.) First question, how did the invention of the cotton gin transform the economy and social structure of the Deep South in the 19th century?

2.) Second question, how did the invention and spread of the tractor, mechanical cotton picker, electricity and telecommunications transform the economy and social structure of the Deep South in the 20th century?

I’m on the road, but I just wanted to throw that food for thought out there. How will the development of artificial intelligence, robotics, automation and other new technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution transform the economy and social structure of the Deep South in the 21st century?