How Did Eli Whitney Change The World

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1793 the year some historians say changed the world. Eli Whitney was a young Yale University graduate; and, like many men of his time was unsure what the future held for him. He was offered a tutor position for a very accredited family and instead turned it down. He was offered an invitation to come visit with a friend, Mrs. Catherine Green. Mrs. Green was the widow of an American revolutionary war general, and the owner of Mulberry Grove Plantation near Savannah, GA. During his stay at the cotton growing plantation, he witnessed firsthand the hard labor that went into cotton processing, as well as the struggle cotton farmers went through to earn a living.
Cotton processing is very hard and tedious, and time consuming work. Separating the fibers from the plant is extremely difficult. If you press down to hard you will get oils all over the actual fibers rendering the cotton unusable. Cotton was an easy crop to …show more content…
Whitney and he partner Miller decided not to patent the cotton gin right away, and instead they wanted to sell it to as many farmers as they could. This plan soon failed. The farmers didn’t like how much Whitney and Miller were pricing the product at. This caused them to start making their own and saying it was new invention. The reason they believed this was ok, the gin the Whitney was selling was too expensive and he didn’t patent the invention so it wasn’t illegal. As soon as Whitney and Miller caught on, they tried to sue the farmers but because of them saying the product was “new” they didn’t win any law suit until 1800, they said it was due to there being a loop hole in the patent laws. Between legal fees and trying to make a profit for themselves, they decided in 1802 to sell the cotton gin patent to South Carolina for $50,000. South Carolina didn’t pay them right away and because Whitney needed the money he then decided to sell it North Carolina and

How Did Eli Whitney Change The World

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