Inventing the Cotton Gin: Machine and Myth in Antebellum America, by Angela Lakwete, brings to light the idea that Eli Whitney did not actually invent the cotton gin. Lakwete exemplifies a vast amount of evidence proving the cotton gin dates back in time even before recorded history, or documentation. Through her persuasive approach and infinite amount of evidence, she proves to readers cotton gins were being used “since the first century of the Common Era.” The cotton gin has it's own history, it's own evolution, featuring different types of designs across the globe. Her writing includes a flow of background information and a better understanding of how different gins worked. She portrays the evolution of the cotton gin over time and brings …show more content…
Each chapter is based on a new cotton gin and it's innovation through a certain time period. The first three chapters describe the development of the roller gin, foot gin, barrel gin, and Eli Whitney’s gin. These chapters prove themselves to be more dramatic because of the complications of the ownership of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, causing there to be an array of lawsuits and nullified patents. Though the chapters are dramatic, they are still as important as the chapters that follow. The next chapters show Phineas Miller’s and Whitney’s gins evolving and the competition that took place over the course of time leading into the nineteenth century. The concluding chapter elaborates on how Whitney’s gin has persisted so long into the present and how it has become a significant part of American history. She explains how he has affected history, especially in the South, and how the idea of “Eli Whitney being the inventor of the cotton gin,” came about. She clearly emphasizes that no man can just invent something out of his own mind, out of no where, and with no background. She continues expanding on its affect in the economy and all the cultural choices that were made while inventing the cotton …show more content…
Lakwete found artifacts, which she studied and was able to identify as parts of the cotton gin. With the help of museums, business records, and advertisements, as well as pictures and patent files, her book is filled with reliable sources that date back in history through the evolution of the cotton gin. Lawkete also relied on court records, credit reports, news papers, and city directories as sources. She has an abundant amount of research and primary sources making her writing an expository overflow of information. Lawkete starts her book in the first century, before recorded history. “The first gin was made from a single roller and a hard, flat surface.” “They were used to remove cotton fiber from the seed.” After some period of time, the cotton gin had finally reached America in 1607. Western Europeans accidentally found their way to America while trying to bypass trade in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean. The cotton gin had already been in parts of Asia, India, and Africa, as well as the Muslim, Byzantine, and Mongol
Southernization impacted the Tang and Song dynasties politically, economically, and their technological advancements. During the Song period, the Chinese advanced their mathematics, established cotton and indigo. The Song era was also when the first cotton canvas was created and used to make more efficient sails for ships. The Chinese also took advantage of the mountain slopes and irrigation systems. The most important crop that became the main source of dos was Champ rice.
Invented by Eli WHitney in 1793, because of the cotton gin it reduced the amount of time and cost of separating the cotton seeds from white fiber. Due to the cotton gin, cotton farming became much more profitable in the South. Because of the cotton gin, the demand of the cotton grew and increased slavery. There was economic consequences due to the cotton gin and the increase of the cotton
At this time, people were investing in factories and businesses, so I decided to open my own factory. My factory specializes in making wool and cotton. The production rate is extremely fast compared to the Domestic System production rates. I guess you can say that the textile industry moved from farms to factories.” These were benefits of the Factory System; however, Brookings also mentioned some disadvantages of the Factory System, and other “flaws” he has observed in his own factory.
In 1854, slavery became a lifestyle in the South; farmers relied on these human beings as their sleepless servants. Mary Ann Shadd Cary wrote concerning the situation of fugitive slaves and their opportunities in the north. She used personal anecdotes and experience as a guide to help other freed or fugitive slaves. In her writing Why Establish This Paper? Mary Ann Shadd Cary utilized figurative language and meaningful correlations to persuade her audience ardently to establish the utter significance of her newspaper.
Have you ever done something that you regretted later? Something that changed your life forever? That is what happened to Lizabeth, the protagonist of Marigolds, a short story that explores the theme of innocence and its loss through the eyes of a young African American girl growing up during the Great Depression. The story revolves around Lizabeth's encounter with Miss Lottie's marigolds, the only bright spot in their otherwise bland neighborhood. In this essay, I will argue that Lizabeth's destruction of the marigolds symbolizes her loss of innocence and her transition to maturity.
The information regarding the statement made in the book They Came Before Columbus is important because it says that no adoption of a plant is simple and it requires knowledge of the plant’s ecological system and the use it has for humans. It has been found out that American cotton has African ancestry this would mean that Africans would have had to spend an extensive amount of time in the Americas teaching the natives about how to grow, cultivate and use the plants adopted. This is significant to Botany as a science because there may be certain functions that are different between the American and African versions as well as there may be diseases that may affect cotton in African climates that may not affect cotton in American
The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney in 1793. Versions of a cotton gin have existed since the first century in which single rollers were used to try to separate the seed from the cotton. Over time, a double roller system was invented. Finally, in 1793, the version invented by Whitney actually used teeth-like projections to remove the seed from the cotton. A belt and pulley system then separated the lint from the seeds.
In Antebellum America, the United States’ Southern slave-based
Prior to the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, slaves had to hand pick over one hundred pounds of cotton per day. New technology, ways of transportation, and innovations in markets had a positive major effect on the United States from 1793 to 1850. New technology in the U.S. allowed the states to produce goods more efficiently. In 1793, American inventor Eli Whitney created the cotton gin, which allowed slaves in the South to easily separate cotton fiber from the seeds. The economic impact of Whitney’s gin was vast because it enabled slaves to produce over two hundred pounds of cotton per day.
Garrett Morgan was a well-known African-American inventor, entrepreneur and pioneer for the black community, America and the whole world who made his mark on the society through his invention of a sewing machine enhancement, primitive gas mask, and traffic lights. In addition, he did have other inventions that did not have as much impact, but most people would say inventing is very hard, so that in its self is a feat. Mr. Morgan’s life did start out a little treacherous, but was nowhere close to the life of his ancestors, parents and some of his siblings. He was one of eleven children and got his work cut down. Respectfully, Garretts early life was full of lack of opportunity and eventually went looking for more opportunity in Ohio, which he
In the antebellum period of South Carolina, cotton took complete control. Both Inland and Island farmers farmers relied on cotton thanks to the textile industry. After the invention named the cotton gin was invented, the cotton industry was changed forever. This new era had a good effect on the trade between other countries/states and the South. However, these new advancements ended up affecting the majority of the population, the slaves, the worst.
As you can see also stated in document one cotton was only found in warmer, wetter climates known as the Olmecs and Maya, because of this it made
“The Goophered Grapevine” “About ten years ago my wife was in poor health, and our family doctor, in whose skill and honesty I had implicit confidence, advised a change of climate. I was engaged in grape culture in northern Ohio, and decided to look for a location suitable for carrying on the same business in some Southern State. I wrote to a cousin who had gone into the turpentine business in central North Carolina, and he assured me that no better place could be found in the South than the State and neighborhood in which he lived; climate and soil were all that could be asked for, and land could be bought for a mere song. A cordial invitation to visit him while I looked into the matter was accepted. We found the weather delightful at that season, the end of the summer, and were most hospitably entertained” (Chesnutt 699).
The absence of education on plantation life is a topic that is deeper than it would appear on the surface. It is a significant part of the stigma that has haunted the African American culture to this