US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Eli Whitney's Patent for the Cotton Gin
This National Archives and Records Administration site relates the history of Eli Whitney and his remarkable inventions. Links to sites with patent information on the cotton gin. Tons of teacher's resources can be found at this site.
US National Archives
Our Documents: Patent for Cotton Gin (1794)
Interactive image of Eli Whitney's plans for the cotton gin, accompanied by an explanation of the cotton gin's purpose and significance in relation to the Industrial Revolution.
PBS
Pbs: Africans in America: Part 3: Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin
History of Eli Whitney and his cotton gin. Other links to sites with information on this topic.
Science4Fun
Science4 Fun: Cotton Gin
Illustrated article discusses Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin, and how the cotton gin works.
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Eli Whitney Cotton Gin
Presents a summary and list of interesting facts on the Eli Whitney Cotton Gin that revolutionized the cotton industry in the South.
OpenStax
Open Stax: The Economics of Cotton
This section of a chapter on "The Antebellum South" explains the labor-intensive processes of cotton production and describes the importance of cotton to the Atlantic and American antebellum economy.
Open Door Team
Open Door Web Site: Brief History of the Cotton Industry
General history overview of the development of the Cotton Industry. Read here to learn about the history and growth of the Cotton Industry.
US Department of Agriculture
Usda: Survey of Seed Cotton and Lint Cleaning Equipment in Us Roller Gins
Summary and abstract of article about processing cotton, includes a description of ginning.
Curated OER
Clip Art by Phillip Martin: Cotton Gin
A clipart illustration by Phillip Martin titled "Cotton Gin."
Curated OER
Clip Art by Phillip Martin: Cotton Gin
A clipart illustration by Phillip Martin titled "Cotton Gin."
Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press.
New Georgia Encyclopedia: History and Archaeology: Eli Whitney in Georgia
Although Eli Whitney was born in Massachusetts, it was in Georgia that he invented the cotton gin in 1793.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Movement South and Westward
Following Eli Whitney's invention in 1793 of the cotton gin -- a machine that separated raw cotton from seeds and other waste -- the cotton market boomed. Planters in the South bought land from small farmers who frequently moved farther...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: Biographies: Eli Whitney
This is a great resource for Eli Whitney. Details his development of the cotton gin, and offers additional information through outside links.
PBS
Pbs: Who Made America?: Innovators: Eli Whitney
One-page profile of influential innovator, Eli Whitney, whose vision and ideas created the cotton gin and what would later be known as "mass production".
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Inventor of the Week: Eli Whitney
This site from the MIT Invention Dimension provides the history of Eli Whitney's cotton gin. Important part of the Industrial Revolution.
Other
Plains Cotton Cooperative Association
Report on the selection of a Texas cotton ginner, Ronnie Nettles, as Ginner of the Year. Article also describes Mr. Nettles's career.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Eli Whitney
This Wikipedia online encyclopedia site offers a brief biography of Eli Whitney (1765-1825 CE), inventor of the cotton gin and many other things. The encyclopedia entry provides many hyperlinks to terms as well as an illustration of...
Other
Eli Whitney Museum: Eli Whitney
This is the Eli Whitney Museum online. Provides information on the inventor, his product, his factory, and much more. Also provides information on the museum itself. Flashpoint not needed, but recommended.
Other
James Hargreaves
The life and work of James Hargreaves, the inventor of the spinning jenny that revolutionized the English textile industry and brought on the Industrial Revolution.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Education: Spotlight Biography Inventors
This site provides information on American inventors Benjamin Franklin, Robert Fulton, Eli Whitney, Thomas Jefferson, Isaac Singer, Wilbur Wright, Thomas Alva Edison, Elias Howe, and Alexander Graham Bell. It offers pictures from and...
Library of Congress
Loc: What in the World Is That?
Can you match the picture to the correct invention? Read about these inventions and the importance of them. Also included are related sites to find further information about each invention.
Have Fun With History
Have Fun With History: Industrial Revolution
Multi media learning module with videos for students and teachers to learn about the Industrial Revolution and how America moved from and agricultural society to an urban machine-based production in the 19th Century.
Enchanted Learning
Enchanted Learning: Inventors & Inventions From the 1700s
Use this site to learn more about early inventors and inventions from the 18th century. This web page offers text and images on various inventors and their inventions. You can also access information about inventors and inventions from...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Wake Up, America: Industrial Revolution in America [Pdf]
A lesson plan from the producers of the 16-episode PBS series "Freedom: A History of US" that looks at the technological advances of early nineteenth-century America and the birth of the Industrial Revolution in America.