THE INVENTION OF THE ENGINEERING THAT Bethea MADE AMERICA GIN The Building of the Golden Gate Bridge

The Building of the Hoover Dam THE INVENTION OF THE COTTON GIN COTTON OF THE INVENTION THE The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad

The Invention of the Airplane

The Invention of the Assembly Line

The Invention of the Atomic Bomb

The Invention of the Cotton Gin

The Invention of the Transistor THE CHILD’S WORLD ®

BY NIKOLE BROOKS BETHEA MOMENTUM Page intentionally blank THE INVENTION OF THE COTTON GIN

BY NIKOLE BROOKS BETHEA Published by The Child’s World® 1980 Lookout Drive • Mankato, MN 56003-1705 800-599-READ • www.childsworld.com

Photographs ©: Library of Congress, cover, 1; William Hoogland/Library of Congress, 6; Shutterstock Images, 8; Everett Historical/Shutterstock Images, 9, 16, 23, 24; Percy Moran/Library of Congress, 10; SuperStock/Glow Images, 12; Glasshouse Images/Newscom, 14; Department of State/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 18; George N. Barnard/Library of Congress, 20; Ann Ronan Picture Library Heritage Images/Newscom, 22; Currier & Ives/Library of Congress, 26; Morphart Creation/Shutterstock Images, 28

Copyright © 2017 by The Child’s World® All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 9781503816428 LCCN 2016945599

Printed in the United States of America PA02321

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nikole Brooks Bethea is a licensed professional engineer. She earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Florida and worked as a professional engineer for 15 years. Most of Mrs. Bethea’s publications are science and engineering books for children. TABLE OF CONTENTS

FAST FACTS AND TIMELINE...... 4 Chapter 1 WHITNEY’S IDEA...... 6 Chapter 2 DEVELOPING THE COTTON GIN...... 12 Chapter 3 OBTAINING A PATENT...... 16 Chapter 4 BUSINESS STRUGGLES...... 20 Chapter 5 IMPACT OF THE COTTON GIN..... 26

Think About It 29 Glossary 30 Source Notes 31 To Learn More 32 Index 32 FAST FACTS • Inventor: • Date: Whitney received a patent for the cotton gin on March 14, 1794. • Purpose: The gin sped up the process of removing the seeds from the cotton. • Location: Savannah, , and New Haven, Connecticut. • Special features: Eli Whitney’s cotton gin consisted of five parts. They included the frame, the wooden cylinder covered with iron teeth, a slotted grating, a brushlike clearer, and the hopper. • Impact: The cotton crop became so important in the south that it was called King Cotton.

4 TIMELINE December 8, 1765: Eli Whitney is born. Fall 1792: Whitney earns his degree at Yale College. Winter 1792: Whitney begins his design of the cotton gin. May 27, 1793: Whitney and Phineas Miller sign an agreement to share any profits from the patent of the cotton gin. June 20, 1793: Whitney applies for a patent for his cotton gin. October 15, 1793: Whitney mails a description and drawings to Thomas Jefferson for a patent. March 14, 1794: Whitney receives a patent for his cotton gin. May 11, 1794: Whitney delivers his first shipment of cotton gins to Miller. June 21, 1794: Whitney and Miller form a business partnership. They operate as Miller & Whitney. January 8, 1825: Whitney dies at age 59.

5 Chapter 1 WHITNEY’S IDEA

li Whitney couldn’t stop thinking about it. Farmers needed a E way to separate the green seeds from cotton. The year was 1792. Whitney was spending a few days on the Greene family’s Mulberry Grove Plantation near Savannah, Georgia. Whitney was 26 years old. He had just finished college in Connecticut, and he was on his way to . A teaching position awaited him there.

6 Eli Whitney was born in Massa