Activities: Guided Reading/Elementary
Cotton Gin
1794
Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1794 in Georgia to speed cotton
picking. Whitney thought the cotton gin would help to end slavery; unfortunately,
it caused slavery to last longer.
Whitney was traveling to South Carolina to be a teacher. On his way, he met
Catherine Greene. She was the wife of Revolutionary War hero Nathaniel Greene.
She wanted Whitney to come to her farm in Georgia. He accepted, and when he
arrived, Whitney heard about the problems with cotton. He was told it was hard to
process. Cotton had to be picked, and the little seeds had to be picked out of it.
That took a long time. Even though it was hard work, planters made money selling
cotton. The planters told Whitney a machine that could pick the seeds out of cotton
would be very helpful. He decided to help and make some money, too. It took him
a week to build a successful machine. The cotton gin made picking cotton easier
and faster.
Whitney needed a patent so no one would steal his idea. He did not show
anyone his invention until he got his patent. He planned to sell the cotton gin for
$500. Soon, plantation owners from all over were ordering them. Whitney could
not produce them fast enough. By the end of 1794, the whole country knew about
the cotton gin. Whitney believed he was going to be rich. Unfortunately, a fire
destroyed his workshop; and he lost many tools used to make the gins. He rebuilt
his workshop, but his problems were far from over.
While rebuilding his shop, many people stole his invention, even though he
had a patent. He offered free, unseeded cotton to those who bought his gin. This
might get more people to buy his product. Some
Southern planters who built their own cotton
gins, tried to disrupt Whitney’s business. They
spread rumors saying Whitney’s gin ruined the
cotton. That rumor hurt his business. Whitney
was almost out of business by 1796. He wanted
to sue over his cotton gin patent, but he found the
patent did not protect his invention as well as he
thought. He wanted to sue all the people who stole his invention. He knew that
would take years, so he only sued his main competitor, Edward Lyon.
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Activities: Guided Reading/Elementary
Whitney came up with a new idea. He wanted to sell the rights to make the
cotton gin. In addition, by 1800 there were new patent laws. These laws helped
Whitney to sue all the people who stole the cotton gin. Many state legislators
bought the rights to use Whitney’s invention. He sold the rights for $50,000.
Whitney was finally satisfied.
He created this invention in hopes of ending slavery. Some say he may have
made slavery last longer. Cotton was produced at an easier, cheaper, and faster
pace. More slaves were needed to grow more cotton and to operate the cotton gins.
Much more cotton was grown and sold because it was now cheaper to process. The
cotton gin made Southern planters rich. It also extended slavery for another
seventy years.
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Activities: Guided Reading/Elementary
Eli Whitney’s Original Cotton Gin Patent
1794
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Activities: Guided Reading/Elementary
Name: ________________________________
Date: ____________________
Cotton Gin
1794
Discussion Questions:
1. Who did Eli Whitney meet on his way to South Carolina?
2. For how much did Eli Whitney first sell the cotton gin?
3. What happened to Whitney’s cotton gin workshop?
4. What almost put Whitney out of business in 1796?
5. Why did this invention not end slavery?
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