The Cotton Revolution In America
Michael Baker
HIS 131-07
The Cotton Revolution in America:
We often view the twentieth century as the era of the most progressive time for technology, but often what are not often thought of are the astonishing advances of the century prior. The inventions of the nineteenth century seemed to bring the world out of the Dark Ages. With all the amazing advances in science and technology, it trumped any time before hand. Between the railroad, the telegraph, electric lighting, the photograph and the steam boat, the advances of this century were phenomenal. But it seemed that simplest inventions of this time had the most profound effect on American Society ever. These were Eli Whitneys inventions of the cotton gin and interchangeable parts. Eli …show more content…
Eli Whitney yet again made another world changing invention with interchangeable parts in 1798. Interchangeable parts were popularized by weapons manufacturers. They could be used to manufacture rifles so you could take them apart and use them on other rifles. The Federal Government hired Whitney to build ten thousand muskets for the Army. Although it was still a rough conception, it was a very influential invention. Eli Whitney started the American system of manufactures and was the one who started the standardization of guns. Although he did not invent the factories that used unskilled workers and assembly lines, he advanced the idea and this was the start to the system we know as mass production today. Interchangeable parts helped people reload and fix rifles at a much faster pace than ever imaginable before. If a man can reload his rifle much faster, it means the more bullets he can fire. This is a major factor of why the Civil War was so …show more content…
Both the cotton gin and interchangeable parts were two of the greatest inventions of the 1800s, but also two that turned American society down a dark road of violence. It could not been foreseen by Eli Whitney that his inventions would have been the cause of such controversy and bloodshed. He changed American society for the absolute worse but also helped make America a superpower in the world. The cotton gin is dubbed as the invention that prevented the abolition of slavery and interchangeable parts as what made the civil war so destructive and gory. Eli Whitneys inventions shaped the forefront of how we live today.
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[ 1 ]. "Eli Whitney's Patent for the Cotton Gin." National Archives and Records Administration. http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/cotton-gin-patent/ (accessed April 25, 2013).
[ 2 ]. Evans, Harold, Harold Evans, Gail Buckland, Gail Buckland, David Lefer, and David Lefer. They made America: from the steam engine to the search engine: two centuries of innovators. New York: Little, Brown, 2004. p.23
[ 3 ]. "Who Made America? | Innovators | Eli Whitney." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/whitney_hi.html (accessed April 25, 2013).
[ 4 ]. Ibid.
[ 5 ]. "Eli Whitney's Patent for the Cotton Gin."
HIS 131-07
The Cotton Revolution in America:
We often view the twentieth century as the era of the most progressive time for technology, but often what are not often thought of are the astonishing advances of the century prior. The inventions of the nineteenth century seemed to bring the world out of the Dark Ages. With all the amazing advances in science and technology, it trumped any time before hand. Between the railroad, the telegraph, electric lighting, the photograph and the steam boat, the advances of this century were phenomenal. But it seemed that simplest inventions of this time had the most profound effect on American Society ever. These were Eli Whitneys inventions of the cotton gin and interchangeable parts. Eli …show more content…
Eli Whitney yet again made another world changing invention with interchangeable parts in 1798. Interchangeable parts were popularized by weapons manufacturers. They could be used to manufacture rifles so you could take them apart and use them on other rifles. The Federal Government hired Whitney to build ten thousand muskets for the Army. Although it was still a rough conception, it was a very influential invention. Eli Whitney started the American system of manufactures and was the one who started the standardization of guns. Although he did not invent the factories that used unskilled workers and assembly lines, he advanced the idea and this was the start to the system we know as mass production today. Interchangeable parts helped people reload and fix rifles at a much faster pace than ever imaginable before. If a man can reload his rifle much faster, it means the more bullets he can fire. This is a major factor of why the Civil War was so …show more content…
Both the cotton gin and interchangeable parts were two of the greatest inventions of the 1800s, but also two that turned American society down a dark road of violence. It could not been foreseen by Eli Whitney that his inventions would have been the cause of such controversy and bloodshed. He changed American society for the absolute worse but also helped make America a superpower in the world. The cotton gin is dubbed as the invention that prevented the abolition of slavery and interchangeable parts as what made the civil war so destructive and gory. Eli Whitneys inventions shaped the forefront of how we live today.
--------------------------------------------
[ 1 ]. "Eli Whitney's Patent for the Cotton Gin." National Archives and Records Administration. http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/cotton-gin-patent/ (accessed April 25, 2013).
[ 2 ]. Evans, Harold, Harold Evans, Gail Buckland, Gail Buckland, David Lefer, and David Lefer. They made America: from the steam engine to the search engine: two centuries of innovators. New York: Little, Brown, 2004. p.23
[ 3 ]. "Who Made America? | Innovators | Eli Whitney." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/whitney_hi.html (accessed April 25, 2013).
[ 4 ]. Ibid.
[ 5 ]. "Eli Whitney's Patent for the Cotton Gin."