On March 14, 1794, Eli Whitney was granted a patent for his invention of the cotton gin(軋棉機). Whitney was a mechanical genius. His invention changed the entire cotton industry in the South.
Whitney was born in Massachusetts on December 8, 1765. As a boy, he had little interest in school, but he loved working in his father’s metal shop. He soon became a master craftsman.
After working at various jobs for a few years, Whitney went to college. He graduated from Yale University when he was 26. After graduation, Whitney moved to Georgia. There, he learned from cotton planters about all the problems they were having with separating the seeds from the cotton fiber. The separation was done by hand, and it took a whole day to pick the seeds out of one pound of cotton.
Whitney invented a machine that could separate 1,000 pounds of cotton a day. Whitney’s cotton gin was a cylinder covered with teeth which revolved against a grate of closely spaced, parallel bars. The teeth of the cylinder pulled the cotton fibers through the bars, leaving the seeds behind.
Following Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin, the growing of cotton in the South expanded rapidly. The great increase in cotton production benefited mill owners as well as planters. Cotton fabric became very popular, and cotton mills could produce fabrics in greater quantities at less cost.
Whitney’s invention didn’t just affect the South. It affected the whole world. Whitney’s cotton gin changed the entire cotton-fabric industry. Whitney died at the age of 60.
Cotton Gin in Use
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