cotton

Surveys the history, growth cycle, processing, and varied uses of one of the world's most important fiber plants.

Describes the process of making blue jeans from the harvesting of cotton through the weaving of cloth and sewing the finished product.

Describes the history of the cultivation and use of cotton including the impact on slavery, urbanization, and industry.

Describes how cotton is grown, and how that cotton is processed, spun into thread, woven into cloth, cut and sewn to make a T-shirt.

Explains the mechanics of the cotton gin, invented in the late eighteenth century by Eli Whitney, and describes how it enabled, tragically, the vast expansion of the American slave trade.