The Innovation of the

Cotton Gin

By:

Life Before the Cotton Gin

• Picking cotton by hand was extremely labor intensive

• Cotton was not considered a profitable crop

• Cotton was difficult to manufacture

Slavery Before the Cotton Gin

• Slaves would have to clean cotton by hand

• Agriculture depended heavily on the slaves in the South

• Slaves had to pick the seeds out of the cotton fibers and it took them one day to produce 1 lb. of cotton

Eli Whitney Biography

• Born on December 8, 1765 in Massachusetts• Worked on father’s farm• At age 15, had part-time job in father’s shop

making nails• While tutoring on a Georgian Plantation he noticed

slaves having trouble picking seed from cotton bolls. It took too long to clean the cotton

• Graduated Yale College in 1792• Was an American inventor best known for the

cotton gin (1793)

The Cotton Gin: What is it?

The cotton gin is a machine used to separate cotton fibers from the seed.

How The Cotton Gin Works

1. First, the fibers and seeds of cotton bolls are fed into the cotton gin…

2. Next, while the handle is turned, the cylinder and brushes rotate…

3. Wire teeth pull cotton bolls through narrow wire slots…

4. Seeds too large fall to bottom of the gin…5. Clean cotton fiber is pulled by rotating brushes

from wire teeth out of the gin.

Slavery After the Invention of the Cotton Gin

• Economic foundation of slavery strengthened

• More land was used to grow cotton, therefore more slaves were needed

• Solidified the need for slavery in the South Slaves using the

cotton gin.

Effects of the Cotton Gin on American Society…

Positive Negative1. Massive growth 1. Need for slaves increased

of cotton production 2. Number of slave states shot up

easier 3. Took land from Native Americans

2. Expanded Northern textile mills

3. Became cash crop of America

Patent on the Cotton Gin

• Whitney applied for patent on the cotton gin

• Patent was ignored

• More people made their own design

• Whitney never became wealthy from invention

Historical Significanceof the Cotton Gin

• Cotton became America’s leading cash crop

• Impact on Slavery in the South

• Greater availability and cheaper cloth

• Affected politics until Civil War

• Turning Point in economic history of US

Wow!!!