American Inventors: Eli Whitney
Eli Whitney (December 8, 1765 – January 8, 1825) was an American inventor best known for inventing the cotton gin. This was one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution and shaped the economy of the south. Whitney's invention made upland short cotton into a profitable crop, which strengthened the economic foundation of slavery in the United States. Despite the social and economic impact of his invention, Whitney lost many profits in legal battles over patent infringement for the cotton gin. Thereafter, he turned his attention into securing contracts with the government in the manufacture of muskets for the newly formed United States Army. He continued making arms and inventing until his death in 1825.
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Whitney and his partner, Miller, did not intend to sell the gins. Rather, like the proprietors of grist and sawmills, they expected to charge farmers for cleaning their cotton – two-fifths of the value, paid in cotton. Resentment at this scheme, the mechanical simplicity of the device and the primitive state of patent law, made infringement inevitable. Whitney and Miller could not build enough gins to meet demand, so gins from other makers found ready sale. Ultimately, patent infringement lawsuits consumed the profits and their cotton gin company went out of business in …show more content…
The French Revolution had ignited new conflicts between Great Britain, France, and the United States. The new American government, realizing the need to prepare for war, began to rearm. The War Department issued contracts for the manufacture of 10,000 muskets. Whitney, who had never made a gun in his life, obtained a contract in January 1798 to deliver 10,000 to 15,000 muskets in 1800. He had not mentioned interchangeable parts at that time. Ten months later, the Treasury Secretary, Oliver Wolcott, Jr., sent him a "foreign pamphlet on arms manufacturing techniques," after which Whitney first began to talk about interchangeability. In May 1798, Congress voted for legislation that would use eight hundred thousand dollars in order to pay for small arms and cannons in case war with France erupted. They offered a 5,000-dollar incentive with an additional 5,000 dollars once that money was exhausted for the person that was able to accurately produce arms for the government. Because the cotton gin had not brought Whitney the rewards he believed he would get, he accepted the contract. Although the contract was for one year, Whitney did not deliver the arms until eight years later in 1809 using multiple excuses for the
The African American inventor I decided to do a report on is Lloyd Hall. He was not only a black inventor but he also a chemist. Lloyd Hall received his Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University in 1914, a Master of Science from Northwestern in 1916, and a Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) from Virginia State College in 1944. He also served as chief chemist for John Morrel and Company of Ottuma, Illinois (1919-1921) and became President of the Chemical Products Corporation, Chicago from 1921 to 1924.
The Cotton Gin, never was there an artifact that brought so much prosperity as well as hardship in equal measure. Eli Whitney’s invention which was created in 1793 is often cited by historians as an indirect cause of the American Civil War. The genius of the cotton gin was that it could separate the seed from the cotton, so rather than having armies of slaves picking cotton from sun up to sun down this machine could do the job in half the time. Consider this, now even a small plantation operation could quadruple its bottom line, this caused an even greater boom in the acquisition of slaves. Francis Ellen Watkins stated, “A hundred thousand new-born babes are annually added to the victims of slavery; twenty thousand lives are annually sacrificed
Eli Whitney and Cyrus McCormick are two of the most impressive early inventors in United States history. Both inventors had huge impacts on the agricultural field with their respective inventions. Whitney’s cotton gin, which was created in 1793, revolutionized the plantation of the South. Similarly, McCormick’s reaper had the same effect on the North. The reaper had much of the same effect on wheat that the gin had on cotton, allowing wheat field to be picked in a fraction of the time after its use became widespread years after its creation for a neighboring farm in 1831.
Invented by Eli WHitney in 1793, because of the cotton gin it reduced the amount of time and cost of separating the cotton seeds from white fiber. Due to the cotton gin, cotton farming became much more profitable in the South. Because of the cotton gin, the demand of the cotton grew and increased slavery. There was economic consequences due to the cotton gin and the increase of the cotton
Elias Howe was an American inventor who was born July 9th, 1819 in Spencer, massachusetts. He had a wife named elizabeth jennings howe and three kids named James Robinson Howe, simon Ames Howe, and Julia maria Howe. In 1846 Elias invented, built, and licensed the world’s first practical and successful sewing machine. He passed away on October 3, 1867 in Brooklyn, New York at the age of 48. Elias Howe was successful because he succeeded, although he had a very difficult childhood, invented the sewing machine, and lived through the time of the emancipation proclamation.
The new government also had easily decline the request for backup during conflict of war to prevent siding with one country over the other. This was successfully done twice during President Washington’s two terms. As much as assisting the French during another war with the British would help pay back their debt to the French; it was the wise decision to respectfully decline to avoid any future issues with the Spaniards. Overall, the new American government went through many phases writing and setting laws and amending old ones to continue to build a strong economy as a
Well known dis-plays of lack of defense provisioning are in the rampant attrition due to non-payment, and suffering of Colonial troops at Valley Forge. The inability of Congress to regulate trade was another great hurdle. At the con-clusion of the Revolutionary War, Great Britain began to flood American markets with goods, to the chagrin of some. Congress was given the ability to coin money for use throughout, but many states still traded in their own printed currency, perpetuating the instability of the economy.
The American Civil War and the Reconstruction periods played an important role in defining the nation’s political, social, and economic identity in the sense that the country’s survival and democratic principles were radically tested. As the country was becoming a hemispherical power, sectional tensions and dissenting attitudes of opposing groups make these periods comparable with the Revolutionary War in three major components: the issue of slavery and struggle for equality, the role of the federal government vs. states’ rights, and scuffles related with economic power. Prior to the Revolutionary War, there was an existing struggle between social classes as the southern states had an inflexible social structure, whereas in the northern states the Industrial Revolution was beginning to take place, causing a dramatic shift of labor force after the country gained its independence in 1783. With the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1791, southern landowners took advantage of the slave force to increase their profits radically, and this reliance on slaves for the
The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney in 1793. Versions of a cotton gin have existed since the first century in which single rollers were used to try to separate the seed from the cotton. Over time, a double roller system was invented. Finally, in 1793, the version invented by Whitney actually used teeth-like projections to remove the seed from the cotton. A belt and pulley system then separated the lint from the seeds.
Throughout history, people have been inventing things to make their lives easier. That drive has produced huge changes in the American life several times over. In the 1700’s, life in America was very difficult. Transportation infrastructure was lacking, which pushed the delivery of goods to be almost exclusively down rivers. Military technology was roughly unchanged since America began, leaving the country open to attack from other nations.
Due to their recent war with the French, Britain and its colonies were in debt. Britain turned to the colonies as a source of revenue to pay back money, and Parliament passed acts placing taxes and tariffs on the colonies and American trade. Following the revolution, the United States was in debt to France, who helped them fight Britain during the war and supplied money, troops, and supplies. Some Americans demanded paper currency and equal distribution of property (Doc. G). Although the manufacturing industry was growing in America, it was growing very slowly.
Unlike England, America had a very small economy and were outnumbered in troops. The Americans had difficulty raising funds to purchase supplies for their troops and firearm. However, the French involvement drastically changed the outcome of the war. The French provided the Americans with the necessary supplies to be successful during the war with firearm and supples. Frances lost in the Indian war and the continuous rivalry caused the French wanting to give the British revenge.
They helped countless people in his time and his inventions have helped many people since. Therefore, the best inventor in the 1700’s was Benjamin Franklin because he invented many useful items such as the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, which led to the inventions of many more improved versions of
Also he executed his first patent for his electrographic vote-recorder on October 13,1865 at the age of 29.Also his last patent was for a apparatus for holding an object during the electroplating process. Also during the World War I the U.S government asked if Thomas edison to head to the NAval Consulting board which examined
Thomas Edison left behind many things in this world. He invented the first telegraph, light bulb, vita scope, microscope, movie camera, typewriter, electric pen, and alkaline storage battery. When Thomas edison died in 1931 he left behind 3,500 notebooks that are now locked in a laboratory in New Jersey. Inside the notebooks gave a wide span of all of Edison’s notes and idea over his 60 year career. Edison created a direct current (DC) that would send electricity in a straight path like a battery.