The Franklin Mint History Of The United States, 1776-1973
Manufacturer
The Franklin Mint
CultureAmerican
DateNo Date
MediumSilver
DimensionsOverall: 1 3/4 in. (45 mm.)
Credit LineGift of Dr. Eugene F. Poutasse
Object number76.81.18
Not on view
DescriptionOne of collection of 200 silver medals.The 1793 medal: Eli Whitney Invents the Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney intended to teach after graduation from Yale College in 1792 but, when he went to Georgia to accept a teaching position, he found it already filled. While a guest of Mrs. Nathaniel Green, widow of the Revolutionary War General, he learned the possibilites of upland cotton growing if a way could be found to separate green seeds from the cotton. Only a pound of cleaned cotton could be produced in a day by hand.
Whitney had never seen cotton plants before, but being mechanically inclined, applied himself to the problem and, in April 1793, completed a model of a tooth-type gin. Later he produced larger models, run by water power, capable of cleaning 300 to 1,000 pounds of cotton a day.
He applied for a patent on June 20, 1973 which was signed by President Washington on March 14, 1794. The gins were to be built and operated throughout the South. five pounds of cotton produced 1-2/3 pounds of fibers of which 1/3 pound was retained for the use of machine. While his genius deserved a reward, this was a high price for a machine that could be constructed quite cheaply. To aviod this monopoly and expense, it was copied by others, with small differences to get around the patent. Whitney had to spend years before hostile juries proving his priority and the great value of the invention. To illustrate its immediate effect, the export of cotton rose from 138,000 pounds in 1792 to 1,601,1000 pounds in 1794.
Finally South Carolina purchased use of the gin in 1801 and other States followed. These machines were franchised, as should have been done at first to have avoided all the resentment and litigation.
Later Whitney made muskets for the government and perfected interchangeable parts for them. In Whitney was the impetus that helped make the industrialization of America possible.
