Reproduction of Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin Model

Description:

In 1794, Eli Whitney patented a new kind of cotton gin. His invention, using rotating brushes and teeth to remove the seeds from cotton, was quickly pirated by others.

Southern plantation owners depended on slaves for labor-intensive crops such as rice, sugar, tobacco, and especially cotton. As the market demand for cotton increased in the early 1800s, the Southern cotton industry expanded dramatically, as did the system of slave labor it relied on.

Location: Currently not on view

See more items in: Home and Community Life: Textiles, Industry & Manufacturing, National Treasures exhibit, Agriculture, Textiles

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Related Web Publication: http://americanhistory.si.edu/treasures

Related Publication: Kendrick, Kathleen M. and Peter C. Liebhold. Smithsonian Treasures of American History, National Museum of American History. Treasures of American History online exhibition

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: TE.T08791.000Catalog Number: T08791.000Accession Number: 48865

Object Name: gin, cotton, Whitney'sgin, reproduction cotton

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a4-55a6-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_625483

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