How Did Eli Whitney Contribute To The Formation Of The Cotton Industry

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.

It was an agricultural haven for cotton, but also an area of innovation and adaptation. The businesspersons that resided in the South consisted of Northern and Southern businessmen looking to make a name for themselves. Furthermore, in this pursuit for wealth and power they created innovations that forever changed America. The invention of the Cotton Gin by Eli Whitney created a chain of industrial, social, and economical events that made America the nation it is today. These men sought to make a better America, consequently some innovations led to the abuse of human life and liberty, but out of this pain, a stronger nation was born. The fire that was set by these visionaries, even if it was lit by greed, created a nation hungry for the pursuit of a better life and better

The Early American Industrial Revolution and Westward Expansion, two interconnected yet independent occurrences, were significant events in the Antebellum Era. The Early Industrial Revolution utilized new inventions to improve the United State’s economy and change lifestyles (Hakim NN 105; Hakim NN 107). It had offered new opportunities and transformed America 's farm economy into a market economy, which is, arguably, more efficient (Hakim NN 109). While Westward Expansion extended America’s borders, fueled by a popular ideal known as “manifest destiny, it caused many disputes amongst the American citizens, creating complications in Congress (Hakim 62-63). As shown, the Industrial Revolution and Westward Expansion were both major changes for America 's economy, each with its own benefits and disadvantages (Hakim NN 103-109; Hakim 58-59). The Early Industrial Revolution and Westward Expansion promoted and enhanced the effects of each other; the increased production of textiles urged Southern farmers to expand their plantations, which in turn, produced more raw materials for the Northern industrial workers to process (Hakim NN 103-109; Hakim 58-59). While both, as shown above, had improved the economy and allowed some freedom for the workers in free states which would otherwise not have, they also promoted slavery, which, at the time, was an ongoing issue

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

Factories in the North attracted former subsistence farmers because it was more efficient to buy food rather than to grow it. Systems like the Lowell System employed young women, provided them with room and board, and paid the women for their work in the factory. With the rise of numerous new American inventions, machines became more efficient and the United States had soon developed one of the best industrial economies in the world. Because of the need for effective transportation to distribute goods, new forms of transportation such as elaborate railroad and canal systems emerged. The south, on the other hand, clung to the slave-based plantation system. The economy was based largely on the production of raw materials, mainly cotton. Eli Whitney’s cotton gin allowed the cultivation of short staple cotton to bring Southern planters great success. Because the cotton industry was so lucrative, Southerners had no reason to become industrialized. However, the industrial economy of the North and the agrarian economy of the South led to a colonial relationship between the two, meaning that the South sold raw materials to the North in exchange for manufactured goods. The system put the South in an inferior position to the North, which obviously upset Southerners and led to greater tension between the two regions.

With the economic system, the south had a very hard time producing their main source “cotton and tobacco”. “Cotton became commercially significant in the 1790’s after the invention of a new cotton gin by Eli Whitney. (PG 314)” Let

In the 1800s, America rose to become a highly industrialized and complex economy. This was mainly due to the revolutionary creation of the cotton gin because it sped up the process of how seeds were removed from the cotton fiber. This increase in cotton production ushered the United States into the Market Revolution. During this era, cotton became the single most important crop in the United States, creating more jobs for laborers in the fields. With the rise of cheap labor, the demand for land increased. The influx of workers in America and development of the cotton sector led to the expansion of the United States westward of the northern and southern states. The land necessary for the cultivation of cotton became

After the invention of the cotton gin, the yield of raw cotton doubled each decade after 1800. Demand was fueled by other inventions of the Industrial Revolution, such as the machines to spin and weave it and the steamboat to transport it. By mid-century America was growing three-quarters of the world's supply of cotton, most

     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.

With Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin in 1793, cotton became very profitable. This machine was able to reduce the time it took to separate seeds from the cotton. However, at the same time the increase in the number of plantations willing to move from other crops to cotton meant the greater need for a large amount of cheap labor, i.e. slaves. Thus, the southern economy became a one crop economy, depending on cotton and therefore on slavery. On the other hand, the northern economy was based more on industry than agriculture. In fact, the northern industries were purchasing the raw cotton and turning it into finished goods. This disparity between the two set up a

Eli Whitney was the inventor of the Cotton Gin. Whitney was born on Dec 8, 1765 in Westboro, Massachusetts. At a early age Eli took an intrest to mechanic work. Eli wanted to work at his fathers shop making nail rather than working on his fathers farm. To earn money he worked at a school as a teacher he was later accepted to Yale and graduated at 1792. Near Savannah,Ga he took a job as a tutor for children on a plantation. Eli heard about a need for a machine to clean green-seed

This paper will question the relationship between Slavery and Capitalism, and the extent to how dependent Capitalism was on slavery. Chattel slavery first arrived to America in 1619 and from there the business just kept on growing. It leads to the invention of the cotton gin and helped push forward the young country into the developed powerful nation it is now. This can be gained from the readings from Bailyn, Beverly, the Declaration of Independence, and other works that show not only how profitable slavery was, but also how important it was to the development of America as a country.

One of the most notable pioneers during the Industrial Revolution in the early years of United States history was Eli Whitney. His passion in machinery and yearning for knowledge in technology drove him to design some of the most important inventions in United States. He created the cotton gin, an invention that transformed the agricultural industry, and later designed interchangeable parts, a method that altered the production of manufacturing. Eli Whitney was a competent and respected inventor who overcame obstacles through his life and used the gifts given to him by God to make a difference in our country and the people of the world during the Revolutionary time and his innovative invention still have lasting effects on the people of