Eli Whitney's Use Of Interchangeable Parts And The Cotton Gin

During the industrial revolution, Eli Whitney’ development of the cotton gin in the year of 1794, was an extremely popular and widely used invention throughout the United States of America. This particular machine, is capable of completely separating the seeds, from what we know as cotton. Prior to Whitney’s generous contribution, manual physical employment was necessary for this job. The cotton gin allowed quicker expansion of cotton, which quickly lead to an increase in the economy in the South. The fact that slaves were used to produce such cotton was one of the main causes for tension between the North and the South. The opposite sides had opposite views and opinions on

Throughout American history, there comes a time where a great invention is crafted that comes and impacts our society greatly. Inventions usually have an overall positive affect on the world, but not in the case of the cotton gin. 1792 is when Eli Whitney invented this machine(king cotton) When Eli invented it, he had no idea of the effect that it would have to American Society. The invention of the cotton gin caused an increase of slaves in the south with harsher working conditions, and it also fluctuated the southern economy, which all played a major role in the Civil War.

The industrial revolution was a time of great change in Europe. Many of those changes were brought about by mechanical inventions that greatly increased efficiency by which raw materials were processed. "While working in the sciences and tinkering with mechanics, a few people were able to come up with new ways of doing things. New machines were invented" (MacroHistory and World Report) Three significant machines that were invented during this time period that greatly increased the cotton industry were the cotton gin, the spinning jenny, and the power loom. Since cotton was one of the major cash crops exported by the colonies to England, it is important to understand these inventions in order to grasp the changes brought about by this trio of machines on the cotton industry.

The cotton gin invented by Eli Whitney in 1794 had a powerful impact on the slavery business and the Civil War. It allowed one slave to produce much more cotton, making the demand for cotton and slaves much higher, ultimately provoking the civil war and causing much more pain and suffering than what was needed.

In 1794, U.S. inventor Eli Whitney patented a machine that transformed the production of cotton by significantly speeding up the process of removing seeds from cotton fiber called the cotton gin. By the middle of the 19th century cotton had become America’s leading export. This gave Sothern’s the rationalization to maintain and expand slavery despite large number of abolitionists in America. While the cotton gin made cotton processing easier, it facilitated planters in earning greater profits, resulting in larger cotton crops. This in turn increased slavery because it was the cheapest form of labor. As for the North, particularly New England, the cotton gin and cotton’s increase meant a steady supply of raw materials for its textile mills.

In the 1790’s the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney sparked an increase in cotton production in the South. The cotton gin decreased the labor time it took to pick seeds from the cotton. Slave owners moved or sold their slaves to deep Southern states

In such a unique nation where the average person is family oriented and running a family owned farm and/or business their was bound to be room for change. In 1793 Samuel Slater, a born European created the first cotton spinning factory in Pawtuckett. This is said to be one of the many things that sparked Industrial Development in America. This project alone sparked the need for more cotton to be produced at a faster rate which brought upon the creation of the cotton gin. New growth in any field brings more than what meets the eye. The cotton gin producing more cotton made it neccassary for a new form aof transport to be developed. Shortly after the country started to adapt textile mills started to pop up

In 1793 the cotton industry bloomed because of Eli Whitney when he invented the cotton gin. With the invention of the cotton gin, cotton became a tremendously profitable industry, creating many fortunes for white plantation owners in the antebellum South. “American inventor Eli Whitney and his cotton gin improved the cleaning of raw cotton, facilitating the continuing growth of the industry in many locales.” This proves that the cotton industry rose after the gin was invented. It is evident that Eli Whitney played a major part of the growth of the cotton industry. Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin revolutionized the cotton industry.

During the period between 1790 and 1850, the United States was rapidly changing. It was now a separate country with its own economy, laws, and government. The country was learning to live on its own, apart from England. There began to appear a rift between North and South. The North believing in the Puritan Merchant role model, and the South in the role model of the English Country Squire. The North traded with everyone, while the South traded primarily with England. The major crop in the South was tobacco, and because of the decline in the price of tobacco the slave trade was dying, just as those in the North hoped it would. Then came a man, and an invention, which changed the course of history. In 1792, Eli Whitney visited the

In the farming society of the early 1800’s, education was not possible for many children. Horace Mann, a farm boy himself and an early advocate for educational reform, saw the deficiencies in the educational system. He pushed for “common schools” that would retain local control, be co-educational and revolve around the agricultural year. Mann’s ideas began to be adopted around the country in the second half of the nineteenth century. By the start of the twentieth century, mandatory public schooling was the norm. This was the height of the industrial revolution. As Davidson notes in “Project Classroom Makeover”, “Public Education was seen as the most efficient way to train potential workers for labor in the newly urbanized factories (197).” Schools began to work like an assembly line with a focus on efficiency, attention to detail, memorization of facts and staying on task. Curriculum became standardized and states began to replace the local management of education. Critically thinking outside the box was less valued. Regardless of ability, children started school at the same age and were moved through their education in a regulated process.

H.S.: The cotton gin’s significance is that it was able to greatly increase the efficiency of the cotton industry, as well as the necessity for ore slaves. More slaves were brought to the US to cater to the south’s growing cash crop economy, that would make abolishing slavery a huge problem.

When Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1794 there was not much of an impact at first, but once the 1800’s came around the cotton gin gained popularity. The cotton gin was used in the south by slaves to separate the cotton fiber from the seeds. It had teeth that pulled the fiber apart and let the seeds fall out. The north and south, both, were impacted by the cotton gin, but depending on who you ask; workers, slaves, slave/ plantation owners, mills owners; people would have different opinions.

The cotton gin is a device for removing the seeds from cotton fiber. Simple devices for that purpose have been around for centuries, an East Indian machine called a charka was used to separate the seeds from the lint when the fiber was pulled through a set of rollers. The charka was designed to work with long-staple cotton, but American cotton is short-staple cotton. The cottonseed in Colonial America was removed by hand, usually the work of slaves.

     Eli Whitney's machine was the first to clean short-staple cotton. His cotton engine was made of spiked teeth that were on a revolving cylinder which when turned by a crank, pulled the cotton fiber through small openings to separate the seeds from the lint.                                    L-ter on, the gins became horse-drawn and were powered by water. As a result, the cotton was being produced at a much faster pace. The price of cotton also decreased. Cotton soon became the number one selling good.

Eli Whitney pioneered the use of interchangeable parts in 1798. He used interchangeable parts to produce the musket rifles for the American government. Using interchangeable parts in the rifles, it allowed somewhat unskilled workers to assemble the muskets quickly and at a much lower cost (1). Throughout time, many over industries began to apply interchangeable parts in their production.