There are three basic necessities needed in order for anyone to survive: food, shelter, and clothing. Eli Whitney, an American inventor and manufacturer, is a major contributor to the latter of these needs. Whitney, a man of great perseverance and a victim of unfortunate circumstances, is best remembered as the inventor of the cotton gin.
His invention, coupled with the development of the textile industry by Samuel Slater, led to a cotton revolution. .
Born on December 8, 1765, Eli Whitney spent his early years on his family's farm in Westborough, Massachusetts (Britton 12). His mother died when he was twelve, so he took more responsibility on the farm with his three younger siblings and his father. Whitney had a special talent that was evident to his family and neighbors around him. He possessed a great understanding of mechanics and used it to his advantage. According to Karen Britton, Eli Whitney "once pretended to be ill so that he could stay home from church and take apart his father's watch. Unlike most curious children, however, he was able to put it back together so that it ran perfectly- (12). He started working as a blacksmith, and made nails on a machine he had at home. One interesting fact is that Eli Whitney was at one time the country's sole manufacturer of ladies' hatpins (Wilson 78). During the Revolutionary War, he opened a small business and produced nails to help with the shortage. After the war, the price of nails went back down and Whitney's interests went elsewhere (Britton 12). .
He was determined to enter Yale College, but he did not have the financial means to do so. Whitney worked as a teacher in a nearby town to earn money for school. In March, 1789, he moved to New Haven, Connecticut, and entered Yale at the age of twenty-three (Britton 12). Eli Whitney graduated in 1792 and faced the problem of finding a job that suited him. He decided to stay with teaching and was offered a position as a tutor in South Carolina for the pay of one hundred guineas a year (Wilson 79).
