KEY TERMS Key Terms and People to Know for the Regents Exam
Southern Geography / Plantations
Large plantations (and slavery) developed in the South during the colonial period because of geography. The Atlantic Coastal Plain in the South contains large areas of fertile soil and has a long growing season.
Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin
Technological improvements like the cotton gin made harvesting cotton easier and more profitable, which led to the expansion of slavery across the South in the first half of the 1800s.
Expansion of Slavery
As the US acquired more land between 1803 and 1850, controversy developed concerning the expansion of slavery. During the 1840s, abolitionists opposed annexation of new western territory because they feared the admission of new slave states.