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Why Whitney Never Made It For All Things Mechanical

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As a young boy growing up in Westboro, Massachusetts it became clear that young Eli Whitney had a passion for all things mechanical. Born in 1765, Whitney spent his childhood on the family farm, however he was fascinated with machine work and technology. By age 12 it was more than apparent where Whitney’s passion was centered, he had already been tinkering with his father’s watch, taking it completely apart and re-assembling it as well as building his own violin. He even started his own business forging nails during the Revolutionary War and had employees to help with the operations of his business. Young Whitney appeared to have what it took to be a successful businessman so he chose to attend the University of Yale in 1789 and graduated in three years with some intent on becoming a lawyer. Like most young people today, Whitney had debts to pay off so he took a job as a tutor on a plantation in South Carolina. There is some dispute on why Whitney never made it to South Carolina. Some accounts claim that he received word that the salary was half of what had been previously discussed, whereas others say that once meeting Catherine Greene he decided to take her job offer rather than the one in South Carolina. What is in fact certain is that when Whitney met Ms. Catherine Greene, the widow of a Revolutionary War general, Greene offered Whitney a job reading law at Ms. Greene’s Mulberry Grove plantation in Georgia. Once there he met another Yale alum by the name of Phineas

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