Eli Whitney had a huge influence on America. He invented the Cotton Gin and introduced interchangeable parts to people. His inventions greatly spead up the process for many things. He was born in Massachusetts in 1765 and he died in 1825. His dad was a farmer. He would later get married to Henrietta Edwards in 1817, and he would have four children, In 1792, he graduated from Yale College and had considered become a lawyer. He headed to the South and intended to become a private tutor, but when he was invited to stay with widow Catherine Green on her plantation, he accepted. While Whitney was on the plantation, he learned about the difficulties that the slaves and farmers faced with cotton. Although cotton was easy to grow and it could be stored for a long time, but separating the cotton seeds from the cotton fibers was very difficult and time consuming. A worker could pick out the seeds from only about one pound of cotton a day. Whitney was told of the struggle and he set out to create a machine to speed up the process. While he made the machine, it is thought that Catherine Green …show more content…
In the South, the gin made it so cotton fibers could be separated from cotton seeds much faster. In the North, they always had enough cotton for their textile factories. With more cotton and more textiles, the United States prospered. Another effect the cotton gin had was the growth of slaves on plantations. With the cotton gin, the farmers could separate cotton faster, so they could grow more cotton. To grow more cotton, more slaves would be need to plant and harvest it. Also, the plantation owners could afford more slaves because their was more cotton that brought it more money. The plantation owners would repeat this cycle as they got more money. They could also borrow money from the banks to buy more land, or slaves. Another idea and invention that Whitney proved was helpful was the use of interchangeable