Before...

People would have to hand pick the cotton. First the cotton had to be picked by hand 3-4 times each harvest season. The bolls on the plants would mature at different rates. Farmers could not simply leave the early-maturing bolls on the plate until all had matured, because the quality of the cotton deteriorated as soon as the bolls opened. So, the slaves would move through the fields trailing 10 foot long sacks that would weigh up to 100 pounds when full. Their hand would end up bloody from the sharp spikes on the cotton plants. They would have to do the process 2-3 more times till the harvesting season was over.

For the harvesters life was more difficult and painful. They would have to go into the fields for hours to get sacks that were at least as heavy as them filled with cotton. The process would take hours, to get all the cotton separated from the seeds.

The harvesters would have to spend hours on end in the fields got get all the mature cotton from the bolls. They would have to go into the fields several times a harvesting season. In the North most of the population was uneducated slaves.

During the Civil war the South had many disadvantages over the north. A large portion of their population were unducated slaves. The Northern part of the United States bought more cotton and built more textiles mills. England built more textiles mills and demanded much more cotton. These mills because their capital was tied up in their slaves so that they could produce more cotton. The South also did not have the need or the capital to build up a good transportation system,, such as canals and railroads.