Eli whitney biography muskets meaning and origin

Eli Whitney is best remembered as the inventor of the first commercially viable cotton gin. Perhaps more importantly, his new method of making muskets, using an assembly line and interchangeable parts, initiated the American mass-production system. Although Whitney never profited from the invention of the cotton gin , he was financially successful in the manufacturing of firearms.

Eli Whitney was born on December 8, , in Westboro, Massachusetts. He showed an early interest in, and talent for, mechanical work. He worked on his father's farm, but preferred to spend his time in his father's workshop.

Cotton gin

By the age of 15, he was earning money making and selling nails. He taught school to pay his college tuition, and along with the extra money he earned making and fixing machinery, he was able to attend Yale University. He graduated in Whitney wanted to become a lawyer. To that end, he moved to Savannah, Georgia, where he intended to teach while studying law.

Eli whitney nationality

With the help of Miller, Whitney obtained a position to tutor the children on the plantation. Soon, Greene had Whitney working on several mechanical problems that hampered the operation of a large plantation. At the top of the list was the need for a more efficient method of cleaning green-seed cotton. Once cotton was picked, the seeds had to be separated from the fiber.

Whitney set himself to the problem and within 10 days had produced a design for a gin. By April , he had perfected his cotton gin.