The cotton industry's foundation was the plantations in the South, where the cotton was grown. Cotton was harvested there by slaves, who were forced to do break backing work for their masters. Slaves were often cruelly treated, whipped, and separated from their families. Cotton from plantations were gathered in large bags by the slaves and then shipped to a cotton mill.
Cotton mill workers were generally very poor white people who were underpaid and underfed. These workers worked long hours spinning the cotton into cloth and then it was shipped up North to be traded for other goods.
