Question

make this sound less formal

Suddenly cotton became a lucrative crop and a major export for the South. However, because of this increased demand, many more slaves were needed to grow cotton and harvest the fields. Slave ownership became a fiery national issue and eventually led to the Civil War.

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

Cotton, all of a sudden, became a major moneymaker for the South. With this boom in demand, they needed way more slaves to cultivate and gather the cotton. The whole topic of owning slaves became a hugely divisive matter nationwide, and it ultimately played a significant role in starting the Civil War.