Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin

By Tharran Gaines
Published on September 19, 2011
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Born in 1765 in Westborough, Mass., Eli Whitney began work as a blacksmith at a young age. Using a machine he built himself, he also was a nail maker and, at one time, was the country’s sole maker of ladies’ hatpins. After attending Yale College, he headed to South Carolina to work as a tutor. When he arrived, he learned his salary would be half what he was promised. Through a chance meeting, he ended up working at a plantation managed by Phineas Miller, who eventually became his partner in the cotton gin. Painting by Samuel F.B. Morse, 1822.
Born in 1765 in Westborough, Mass., Eli Whitney began work as a blacksmith at a young age. Using a machine he built himself, he also was a nail maker and, at one time, was the country’s sole maker of ladies’ hatpins. After attending Yale College, he headed to South Carolina to work as a tutor. When he arrived, he learned his salary would be half what he was promised. Through a chance meeting, he ended up working at a plantation managed by Phineas Miller, who eventually became his partner in the cotton gin. Painting by Samuel F.B. Morse, 1822.
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Woman working a cotton gin in an undated photo.
Woman working a cotton gin in an undated photo.
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A cotton gin in use, from an 1869 engraving by William L. Sheppard.
A cotton gin in use, from an 1869 engraving by William L. Sheppard.
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Cut-away model of an early cotton gin at the Eli Whitney Museum and Workshop illustrates how cotton is separated from the seed. As cotton feeds from a hopper, saw-like teeth on a rotating cylinder grab the cotton fibers and pull them through a grate that holds back the seeds. A rotating brush then combs the cotton from the teeth and deposits it in a receptacle.
Cut-away model of an early cotton gin at the Eli Whitney Museum and Workshop illustrates how cotton is separated from the seed. As cotton feeds from a hopper, saw-like teeth on a rotating cylinder grab the cotton fibers and pull them through a grate that holds back the seeds. A rotating brush then combs the cotton from the teeth and deposits it in a receptacle.
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This early drawing shows how the cotton gin relies on three major components: a separating drum that pulls cotton from the seeds, a grid to hold back the seeds (in hinged cover) and a brush to remove fiber from the teeth.
This early drawing shows how the cotton gin relies on three major components: a separating drum that pulls cotton from the seeds, a grid to hold back the seeds (in hinged cover) and a brush to remove fiber from the teeth.
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This 1880 cotton gin (on display at Pioneer Village Museum, Minden, Neb.) was built by Smith & Sons Gin and Machine Co., Birmingham, Ala. Hand-picked cotton bolls were dumped into the top hopper. Note the belt pulley, which allowed the machine to be mechanically powered.
This 1880 cotton gin (on display at Pioneer Village Museum, Minden, Neb.) was built by Smith & Sons Gin and Machine Co., Birmingham, Ala. Hand-picked cotton bolls were dumped into the top hopper. Note the belt pulley, which allowed the machine to be mechanically powered.
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Although Eli Whitney received a patent for his cotton gin on March 14, 1794, it was not validated until 1807. In addition, the sawtooth gin blades, illustrated here, were not part of Whitney’s original patent.
Although Eli Whitney received a patent for his cotton gin on March 14, 1794, it was not validated until 1807. In addition, the sawtooth gin blades, illustrated here, were not part of Whitney’s original patent.
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A retail price list dating to 1884.
A retail price list dating to 1884.

Countless American inventions have forever changed the face of agriculture. Need proof? Tour the National Agricultural Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, Kan. There, you’ll find the mechanical reaper, gasoline-powered tractor, cream separator … the list goes on and on.

But few inventions had as much impact and notoriety as the cotton gin, invented and patented by Eli Whitney in 1794. Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin enabled one man to clean as much cotton in one day as could be cleaned in an entire winter by hand – earning Whitney a spot in the Ag Hall of Fame in 1977.

Targeting a challenge

By the time Whitney invented his gin (an abbreviated form of the word engine), simple seed-removing devices had been around for centuries. However, most (including a machine developed in the East Indies) were designed to work with long-staple cotton. Unfortunately, long-staple cotton could only be grown along the coast or in some island nations. The one variety that could be grown inland was a short-staple variety with sticky green seeds that were time-consuming to pick out of the fluffy white cotton bolls.

Whitney’s invention, the first of its type, mechanized the seed separation process for this type of cotton. Whitney’s machine could generate up to 55 pounds of cleaned cotton daily, or approximately 55 times that cleaned by a field worker, making cotton production profitable for the southern states. As a result, the cotton gin boosted U.S. cotton exports from less than 500,000 pounds in 1793 to about 93 million pounds in 1803.

Unintended consequences

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