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Hundreds of miles to the south, a small plant is creating another economic boom. Cotton. But this one will eventually tear the nation apart.
向南数百英里，一种小型作物正在创造另一种经济腾飞--棉花，然而这种作物也导致了后来的国家分裂。
Cotton is native to tropical regions, making the Southern states of the US a perfect breeding ground.
棉花原产于热带地区，因此美国南部各州成为了理想的种植区。
The valued part is the soft fiber which grows tightly around the shrub's sticky seeds.
棉花有价值的部分是紧密地长在这种灌木黏性种子周围的柔软纤维。
There are 30 species worldwide. Growing it is no problem, but processing the fiber before it can be spun into cloth is labor-intensive. Especially, separating the seeds.
全世界有30个棉花品种，引进种植不成问题但是加工这些纤维并使之能纺织成布料则需要大量劳动力，特别是在除去棉籽时。
For years, it could only be done by hand. One pound took an entire day.
多年来，只能通过手工来完成仅分离一磅棉花就需要一整天的劳动。
A simple patent filed on March 4, 1794, changes all that. The cotton gin. It automates the process and deeply divides the country.
1794年3月4日，一项简单的发明改变了这一切--轧棉机，它实现了加工过程自动化，也加深了国家的分裂。
The cotton gin transformed not only America, but the world.
轧棉机不仅改变了美国，也改变了世界。
The concept of mass production using a machine just exploded everywhere.
利用机器进行大规模生产的理念从此开始在各地流行。
One man can now process 50 times more cotton. Output skyrockets all over the South.
一个工人现在能加工比从前多50倍的棉花，整个南方的棉产量因此突飞猛进。
In 1830, America is producing half the world's cotton. By 1850, it's nearly 3/4.
1830年，美国棉产量占世界总产量的一半，到1850这一比例接近四分之三。
Called white gold, cotton supports a new lavish lifest yle in the South.
被喻为"白色黄金"的棉花给南方带来了一种新式的奢华生活。
By 1850, there are more millionaires per capita in Natchez, Mississippi, than anywhere else on Earth.
到1850年，密西西比州的纳奇兹市的人均百万富翁数量，比全世界任何一个地方都要多。
The richest man in town owns 40,000 acres, nearly three times the size of Manhattan Island.
城里最富有的人拥有4万英亩田地，几乎是曼哈顿岛的3倍大。
The South is thriving on the backs of human s owning other humans. It's called slavery.
南方的迅速繁荣离不开一种人剥削人的制度，也就是奴隶制。
The North is implicated in the South's success. The industrial North is profiting from Southern cotton, but turns a blind eye to slavery.
北方也受到了南方繁荣的影响，工业发达的北方从南方的棉花中获益，而对奴隶制却视而不见。
Many of them slave owners themselves, the Founding Fathers assumed slavery would soon disappear.
开国元勋中的许多人自己就是奴隶主，他们以为奴隶制会很快消失。
Slavery has already been abolished for 20 years in Britain and is outlawed across most of Europe. But with the cotton explosion, slavery becomes critical to the Southern economy.
奴隶制在英国已经被废除了20年，而且在欧洲的大多数地区属于违法，但由于棉产量的剧增奴隶制变得对南方经济极其重要。
n. 专利，特许
adj. 专利的，显著的
