The Smithsonian
Collections
Timeline
Resources
Slavery & Abolition
Abraham Lincoln
First Blood
Soldiering
Weapons
Leaders
Cavalries
Navies
Life & Culture
Appomattox
Winslow Homer
Mathew Brady
Home
Site Index
Comments
     
 


 

 

 




 

Cotton gin demonstration model


Invented by Eli Whitney and patented on March 14, 1794, the cotton gin was intended to be a labor-saving device that removed the seeds from the cotton. It worked so well that planters grew more cotton on more land, which increased the need for slave labor. Because Southern planters refused to pay for its use, coupled with the fact that the cotton gin was easy to replicate, Whitney never made any money on his invention.


Division of Social History, Textiles
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Behring Center

 

Home SI