Object Details
- Description
- In 1794, Eli Whitney patented a new kind of cotton gin. His invention, using rotating brushes and teeth to remove the seeds from cotton, was quickly pirated by others.
- Southern plantation owners depended on slaves for labor-intensive crops such as rice, sugar, tobacco, and especially cotton. As the market demand for cotton increased in the early 1800s, the Southern cotton industry expanded dramatically, as did the system of slave labor it relied on.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- TE.T08791.000
- catalog number
- T08791.000
- accession number
- 48865
- Object Name
- gin, cotton, Whitney's
- gin, reproduction cotton
- Related Publication
- Kendrick, Kathleen M. and Peter C. Liebhold. Smithsonian Treasures of American History
- National Museum of American History. Treasures of American History online exhibition
- Related Web Publication
- https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/treasures-american-history
- See more items in
- Home and Community Life: Textiles
- Industry & Manufacturing
- National Treasures exhibit
- Agriculture
- Textiles
- National Museum of American History
- Record ID
- nmah_625483
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a4-55a6-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
