Overview:
When Whitney invented the gin, he unknowingly created a ripple effect throughout history that sequentially lead to the Civil War.
- Whitney corresponded with president Thomas Jefferson during 1793, writing several letters about the gin in which Jefferson expressed great personal and professional interest in.
- This incited Whitney to complete the revolutionary product he had been working on.
- The gin Whitney invented was not the first cotton gin invented, but all prior gins were handheld, where Whitney’s was larger and mechanical.
- The gin pulled the cotton over spikes that acted as a comb, not allowing the seeds to pass through, thus giving pure cotton fiber as a result.
- The new ability of being able to separate cotton's fiber from its seed revolutionized the entire cotton industry, and brought hope to the Southern States.