Another great invention is the cotton-gin. It is great because of the commercial prosperity which it brought to the Southern states; because it cheapened and extended the use of an almost necessary article of life; and because of its effect on American history. The inventor was an American, Eli Whitney.
The word _gin_ is an abbreviation of _engine_, and in former days was often used to denote a handy mechanical device of any kind. The cotton-gin is a machine for removing the seed from the fiber of the cotton-plant. Its essential parts are a number of saws which tear the fiber from the seeds, some stiff brushes used to remove the fiber from the saws, and a revolving fan which blows the lighter substance of the cotton away from the saws and brushes. The original cotton-gin has been little changed by improvement since its invention. It seems to be one of those inventions which have been perfected by the inventor himself.
Eli Whitney was born in Westborough, Worcester County, Massachusetts, December 8, 1765. His father was a thrifty farmer. Nature bestowed upon the son marked ability in the use of tools. While he was yet a child, his inventive genius manifested itself. Before he was ten years old, he could use every tool in the farm workshop with the ease and skill of an old workman. He made a violin before he was twelve and later he came to be noted in the neighborhood as a skilful mender of fiddles. He also turned his attention to making nails, which in Revolutionary days were made by hand, and became the best nail-maker in Worcester County. When he was twenty-four years of age, a desire for a college education possessed him. His father agreed to furnish the money to pay for his schooling, with the stipulation that the son should pay it back. He entered Yale, where he was graduated in 1792.
After graduation Whitney went South to act as tutor in a private family. Upon arrival at his destination, he found that the position was already filled. At that time the widow of General Nathanael Greene, who fought in the Revolutionary War, lived near Savannah, Georgia. She had become interested in young Whitney and invited him to make her plantation his home. She noted his inventive skill, and one day when a group of Georgia planters was discussing at her home the desirability of a machine for removing cotton-seeds from the fiber, Mrs. Greene said: "Gentlemen, apply to my friend, Mr. Whitney; he can make anything." Whitney was called in and the planters laid the matter of the machine before him. At this time he had never even seen cotton fiber. But he made up his mind to try what he could do toward solving the problem.