Question

Before the Guns: The Roads to Civil War - Part 1 - American Civil War Anniversary Series

What did Eli Whitney invent? What did this invention do?

Answer 1

Eli Whitney is best known for inventing the cotton gin in 1794. The cotton gin is a machine that efficiently separates cotton fibers from their seeds. This invention significantly increased the productivity of cotton processing, making it much easier and faster to clean cotton than by hand. As a result, it played a crucial role in the expansion of the cotton industry in the United States, particularly in the South. The increased demand for cotton also contributed to the entrenchment of slave labor in the Southern economy, ultimately having profound effects on the social and political landscape of the country, leading up to the Civil War.