cotton gin

E85533

machine textile processing device

The cotton gin is a machine that rapidly separates cotton fibers from their seeds, revolutionizing cotton production and profoundly impacting the economy and slavery in the American South.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form	Occurrences
helped make cotton a dominant cash crop in the American South	1

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	machine ⓘ textile processing device ⓘ
category	agricultural machinery ⓘ textile machinery ⓘ
component	brushes ⓘ mesh or grate ⓘ rotating cylinder ⓘ wire teeth or hooks ⓘ
effectOnEconomy	boosted profitability of cotton plantations ⓘ expanded cotton cultivation in the American South ⓘ lowered cost of cotton processing ⓘ
effectOnProduction	increased cotton output ⓘ increased speed of cotton processing ⓘ
effectOnSlavery	contributed to expansion of slavery ⓘ increased demand for enslaved labor in the American South ⓘ
efficiencyComparedToManual	much faster than hand separation ⓘ
geographicAssociation	Southern United States ⓘ surface form: American South United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
hasConsequence	accelerated westward expansion of cotton plantations in the United States ⓘ intensified exploitation of enslaved people ⓘ
historicalImpact	considered a key invention of the Industrial Revolution ⓘ contributed to economic divergence between North and South in the United States ⓘ cotton gin self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: helped make cotton a dominant cash crop in the American South influenced causes leading to the American Civil War ⓘ
inventedBy	Eli Whitney ⓘ
inventionYear	1793 ⓘ
materialProcessed	short-staple cotton ⓘ upland cotton ⓘ
operatesOnPrinciple	mechanical separation based on size of seeds and fibers ⓘ
patentType	United States patent ⓘ
patentYear	1794 ⓘ
powerSource	animal-powered ⓘ hand-powered ⓘ steam-powered ⓘ water-powered ⓘ
primaryFunction	separate cotton fibers from seeds ⓘ
producesOutput	cleaned cotton fiber ⓘ cottonseed ⓘ
relatedConcept	Industrial Revolution ⓘ plantation agriculture ⓘ slavery in the United States ⓘ
relatedInvention	power loom ⓘ spinning jenny ⓘ
replacedMethod	manual cotton seed removal ⓘ
requiresInput	raw seed cotton ⓘ
usedFor	processing raw cotton ⓘ
usedInIndustry	cotton industry ⓘ textile industry ⓘ

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

cotton gin → historicalImpact → cotton gin self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: helped make cotton a dominant cash crop in the American South

Eli Whitney → notableWork → cotton gin ⓘ