Use the passage below to answer the following question:

"The Cotton Gin" by Andrea Brecheen

The cotton gin was one of the most amazing and tragic inventions of early America. It is credited to the brilliant and creative American inventor Eli Whitney. Whitney's invention made cotton harvesting easier and allowed farmers in the South to increase production. The cotton gin simplified the process of removing cotton from the seeds, a task previously done by hand.

As a result, Southern plantations increased their production of cotton from 750,000 bales in 1830 to 2.85 million bales just 20 years later. Because of this increase in production, farmers in the South became even more dependent on cotton for revenue. This new reliance on cotton increased the need for slavery, as more slaves were needed to farm the expanding cotton plantations. If Whitney had known the effects his invention would have on slavery, he might never have created it.

Which of the following would best support the author's claim that more slaves were needed after the invention of the cotton gin?

A. Examples of other inventions that affected slaves' lives
B. Information related to the life and times of Eli Whitney
C. Stories of the first time people saw the cotton gin working in the field
D. Details about the number of slaves working cotton 20 years after the cotton gin