Objective: To examine the impact of the cotton gin on American society. Do Now: Which of the following inventions has had the largest impact on American society? Pick one, and explain your choice. Train Car Plane Other (fill in the blank) Refrigerator Telephone Television Computer

· It was difficult to make a profit from cotton because cottonseeds were removed by hand. Cotton Gin Cotton Ball, picked 1915 Georgia Ex.) It took one person an entire day to clean one pound of cotton.

Therefore, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in Eli Whitney’s cotton gin.

· Whitney never became wealthy from his invention. · Whitney applied for a patent on the cotton gin. · People ignored the patent and built their own.

Plantation owners began to earn a lot of money growing cotton. “The First Cotton Gin" (image from 1869) This caused farmers to increase their dependency on slave labor.

Native American tribes such as the Cherokees and Creeks were forced onto reservations so that farmers would have more land to grow cotton.