USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -While it was true that the cotton gin reduced the labor of removing seeds, it did not reduce the need for enslaved labor to grow and pick the cotton. In fact, the opposite occurred. Cotton growing became so profitable for enslavers that it greatly increased their demand for both land and enslaved labor.

Detailed explanation-2: -While living on the plantation, Whitney witnessed the difficulties of growing short-staple cotton that had to be picked and cleaned by hand. He took the problem as a challenge and designed a cotton “gin” (derived from the word “engine”).

Detailed explanation-3: -Inventor, mechanical engineer and manufacturing pioneer, Eli Whitney is best known as the inventor of the cotton gin, patented in 1794. An unforeseen byproduct of Whitney’s invention, a labor-saving device, was to help preserve the institution of slavery in the South by making cotton production highly profitable.

Detailed explanation-4: -Whitney was thus granted a patent on March 14th, 1794, for his “new and useful improvement in the mode of Ginning cotton.” The invention of the cotton gin caused a revolution in the production of cotton in the southern United States, and had an enormous impact on the institution of slavery in this country.