How Did the Growth of Cotton Production in the Lower

How did the growth of cotton production in the Lower South and the Old Southwest transform the national economy by 1860?

A) Cotton made up nearly 60 percent of American exports.
B) Most southern cotton was sold at the local level, rather than at the national or international level.
C) New England merchants and investors faced economic ruin as they were excluded from the sale and transport of cotton to European industrialized nations.
D) The price and number of slaves in cotton-producing areas of the Lower South and Old Southwest decreased rapidly as the cotton gin made it easier to prepare cotton for sale.