cotton gin

(noun)

A cotton gin (short for cotton engine) is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, a job that otherwise must be performed painstakingly by hand.

Related Terms

(noun)

A machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, a job that otherwise must be performed painstakingly by hand.

Related Terms

Examples of cotton gin in the following topics:

  • The Growth of the Cotton Industry

    • Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin in 1793 resulted in massive growth in the cotton industry in the American South.
    • In 1793, Eli Whitney revolutionized the production of cotton when he invented the cotton gin, a device that separated the seeds from raw cotton.
    • Whitney's introduction of "teeth" in his cotton gin to comb out the cotton and separate the seeds revolutionized this process.
    • With the invention of Whitney's cotton gin, cotton became a tremendously profitable industry, creating many fortunes in the antebellum South.
    • Describe the economic and political effects of Eli Whitney's cotton gin

  • Cotton in the South

    • The cotton gin made cotton a cornerstone of the Southern economy and one of the ultimate causes of the American Civil War.
    • In 1793, Eli Whitney introduced "teeth" into the cotton gin; the teeth combed the cotton and separated the seeds, allowing cotton to become a tremendously profitable business.
    • The invention of the cotton gin caused massive growth in the production of cotton in the United States, concentrated mostly in the South.
    • Due to its inadvertent effect on American slavery, the invention of the cotton gin is frequently cited as one of the ultimate causes of the American Civil War.
    • King Cotton did not help the new nation.

  • American Technology

    • In 1793, Eli Whitney created the first modern mechanical cotton gin, revolutionizing cotton production in the South .

  • The Market Revolution

    • In 1793, Eli Whitney's cotton gin revolutionized the cotton industry in the South.
    • The cotton gin (short for cotton engine) was a machine that quickly and easily separated cotton fibers from their seeds, a job that otherwise had to be performed painstakingly by hand, most often by slaves.
    • Just as southern farmers had prospered after the invention of the cotton gin, farmers in the West raked in huge profits as they conquered more lands from the American Indians to plant more and more wheat.

  • Commercial Farmers

    • Cotton, for example, was one of the first and most extensively commercialized crops.
    • Following the invention of the cotton gin in the late 1790s, cotton came to dominate southern plantations and became the quintessential example of a commercialized crop.
    • Cotton prices continued to increase as the South remained the primary supplier in the world.
    • International markets were important for commercial agriculture, especially for cotton.
    • The invention of the cotton gin revolutionized the cotton industry in the South and increased economic dependence on slave labor.

  • Movement South and Westward

    • Cotton, at first a small-scale crop in the South, boomed following Eli Whitney's invention in 1793 of the cotton gin, a machine that separated raw cotton from seeds and other waste.

  • A Market Society

    • Eli Whitney's invention, the cotton gin, helped to establish the new significance of the market to American society, as it enabled southern planters to reap tremendous profits from cotton exports.

  • Slavery in the South

    • Cotton did not become a major crop until after the American Revolution.
    • The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 enabled the cultivation of short-staple cotton in a wide variety of areas, leading to the development of large areas of the Deep South as cotton country in the 19th century.

  • Agriculture

    • Plantation economy in the Old South was based on agricultural mass production of crops such as cotton, rice, indigo, and tobacco.
    • Crops cultivated on antebellum plantations included cotton, tobacco, indigo, and rice.
    • Cotton became dominant in the lower South after 1800 .
    • After the invention of the cotton gin, short staple cotton could be grown more widely.
    • Early 20th-century U.S. photo: "Negroes picking cotton on a plantation in the South"

  • Manufacturing and Trade

    • During these years, the South was known for its production of large staple crops, such as cotton and rice, while the North experienced much more rapid industrialization.
    • Cotton became dominant in the lower South after 1800.
    • After the invention of the cotton gin, short staple cotton could be grown more widely.
    • This led to an explosion of cotton cultivation, especially in the frontier uplands of Georgia, Alabama, and other parts of the Deep South, as well as riverfront areas of the Mississippi Delta.
    • The expansion of cotton cultivation required more slave labor, and the institution became even more deeply an integral part of the South's economy.