The mechanization could efficiently handle short-staple cotton, which could be grown in more places than the long-staple cotton of the Low Country.

During the nineteenth century, the districts and counties were developed chiefly as cotton plantations for short-staple cotton.

This development followed the invention of the cotton gin in the late eighteenth century, which made the processing of short-staple cotton profitable.

This was easier to process by hand than short-staple cotton.

In the Upcountry's soil, only short-staple cotton could be cultivated.

This made possible the expansion of cultivation of short-staple cotton, which grew more successfully in such upland areas.

The cotton gin allowed the processing of short-staple cotton, which thrived in the upland areas.

Inland, only short-staple cotton could be grown but it was full of seeds and very hard to process into fiber.

The invention of the cotton gin in the late 1790s for the first time made short-staple cotton usable.

Originally settled by yeomen farmers, in the nineteenth century numerous plantations were established for the cultivation of short-staple cotton.