Thinking About History Thursday

Eli Whitney

(Note: As much as I really want to talk about the multi-scandal situation Obama has found himself in the middle of, I will stay true to me dedication of covering history on Thursday's.)

When asked, "What did Eli Whitney do?" the first thing out of everyone's mouth is, "Invent the cotton gin." At that point, at least in America's classrooms, the discussion ends. I like to follow up questions like this one with, "So what!" Why is it important to know? I like to explain exactly what a cotton gin does and how it works, which in my community shocks students. You see, we have cotton gins here in the Central Valley of California, but they are huge almost factory like structures. I show students some images of Whitney's gin, essentially a wooden box with a handle to crank and some blades inside which separate the fibers from the seeds, and they freak out.

However a discussion of what the gin was is not enough. An understanding of its economic impact is required. So images of the Lowell textile factories are shown and the connection between the increased demand for cotton as a result of the industrial revolution is discussed along with the important role played by Whitney's cotton gin in allowing for that demand to be met. Students then see the economic cycle of the South producing cotton to feed the factories of the North and the final product (various textiles) being sold in the US and overseas.

The answer to "so what?' is not complete though. There were social implications to Whitney's cotton gin. Many Founding Fathers believed slavery would wither away in the early 1800s because it had become less and less profitable as a method of labor. Then the cotton boom, fueled with the invention of the gin, changed all of that. Cotton was a labor intensive product, especially the ginning process, so it was like a shot of adrenaline to the slave system. So is Eli Whitney to blame for the continuation of slavery? Obviously not as there were other factors, not least of which the important role played by slaves in southern Aristocratic society. But some historians have made that connection and if we were to judge him based on our codes for modern industry then he deserves to be indicted on some charge as a contributing factor. I mean tobacco producers have paid hundreds of millions over addiction to and death as a result of cigarettes.

What most people do not know is that Whitney's most important contribution may well be the improvement in the method of production utilizing interchangeable parts. Whitney did not invent the concept but he took the idea of being able to make mechanical parts to such exact specifications that when something broke on a machine a custom made part was not needed because another similar part would fit. This was Whitney's contribution to what is known as the American System of Manufacturers and the efficiency of this system is what begins the rapid economic growth the nation experiences in the 1800s. He demonstrated, as the story goes, the idea in front of outgoing President Adams and incoming President Jefferson. He assembled muskets from what appeared to be random boxes of parts (they were actually labeled) and fired each musket. Granted there was some subterfuge in the demonstration but the weapons produced by Whitney's factory were considered superior by the US Army to all others so he was awarded a large government contract.

So, no Whitney is not responsible for the continuation of slavery, yes he was a bit of an inventor, and most definitely he was a shrewd businessman who went to great lengths to demonstrate and sell his product.

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