Edited by Gerald Boerner
Commentary:
While it sounds like a rather mundane invention, Eli Whitney’s creation of the Cotton Engine, better known as the “Cotton Gin”, in 1793. He received a patent for his invention in 1794 on this day. He did not obtain his fortune from this device due to patent infringements; he did benefit financially from another invention, the use of interchangeable parts in guns! But the cotton gin provided some unexpected results.
Before the cotton gin, the process of separating the cotton fibers from its seed was very labor intensive. This made cotton less attractive to plantation owner than other crops. With the introduction of the cotton gin, cotton became a more attractive crop, especially in the deep south. This resulted in larger plantations, which required more slave labor. Thus, the cotton gin actually facilitated the use of the inhumane practice of slavery.
Slavery was opposed by the industrial north, but the textile industry was dependent on the cotton produced as a result of the cotton gin. So this invention really was a two-headed sword, so to speak: it created an industry that was dependent on slave labor. Even during the Reconstruction period, African Americans and the poor white population in the deep south were in virtual slavery under the share-cropping arrangement by which they survived.
But it’s time to explore the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney and its effects on the industrial revolution and the institution of slavery… GLB
These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2011 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved[ 4135 Words ]
Quotations Related to ELI WHITNEY:
“I have not only Arms but a large proportion of Armourers to make.”
— Eli Whitney
“I can make just such ones if I had tools, and I could make tools if I had tools to make them with.”
— Eli Whitney
“I have always believed that I should have had no difficulty in causing my rights to be respected.”
— Eli Whitney