Introduction

The Civil War in the United States began in 1861 and was fought throughout the northern and southern states in America until it eventually ended in 1865.  The major intention of the war was the preservation of the Union of the United States.  While both sides had their purpose and validated viewpoints, many diverse ideas surrounded the concepts that comprised the definition of the role of the federal government.  The majority opinion declared that the federal government was supposed to accomplish tasks that were related to the maintenance of power.  A majority of the federalists had a great faith in this role of the federal government.  However, those individuals who were non-federalists maintained the belief that the responsibility of maintaining power within the Union was the sole responsibility of the state, not the federal government (American Economic Association 1897, 124-65).  The state, according to their argument, would better be positioned to determine the laws that would justify independent actions and personal rights while respecting the mandate of the federal government.  In consideration of this concept, the specific rights of the states were highly disagreed upon by both sides especially on many important issues such as taxation, slavery and so on.

This was the most deadly of the wars in the history of the United States, which ultimately led to the deaths of more than 620,000 soldiers, paired with tens of thousands of casualties of men, women and children that were not directly involved in the conflict (Thomas 2002, 115-135).  These deaths and casualties were the consequences of decisions made by both sides to enter military conflict surrounding the main disagreement of the abolition of slavery.  The role of the federal government was strengthened during the Reconstruction Era that extended up to 1887.  This era was shaped around the issues relating to politics, social life, racial and economic preservation and advancements.  The resulting changes of the Reconstruction Era were responsible for the elevation of the United States to a position as an international superpower.

The trade in cotton played a pivotal role in the country’s economics during this particular time period, which led to a political reformation movement that resulted in many laws that directly impacted the sale and production of cotton.  Prior to the time that the cotton gin was introduced to the agriculture industry, the planting of cotton was an extensive process in terms of labor and required a significantly large labor force to do the work of several acres.  The cotton gin was responsible for the removal of the cotton seeds from actual cotton plant.  The process of production was increased by half because of the invention of the cotton gin, and provided a much more efficient use of time and labor in crop production.  However, prior to the cotton gin, the work was very difficult and highly time consuming for farmers and field hands, especially during the harvest period for the crop.  The characteristics of cotton include a soft fiber that surrounds the actual seeds.  The seeds are very sticky and difficult to cultivate during unusual circumstances, and there is often much difficulty in the process of separating the soft fiber from the plant (Thomas 2002, 75-85).

The cotton gin increased the value of cotton farming as a business, and the industry became a venture that was highly lucrative.  As a result of this development, a majority of the states in the Southern region of the United States joined the venture of cotton farming.  Within a short period of time, the production of cotton reached a point of becoming the most highly exported product of the American economy.  Consequently, cotton exportation comprised over half of the total exports made internationally by the American economy.