Website
Other

Eli Whitney/cotton Gin

For Students 9th - 10th
A collection of websites on Eli Whitney and his invention, the cotton gin.
Handout
PBS

Pbs: Africans in America: Part 3: Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin

For Students 9th - 10th
History of Eli Whitney and his cotton gin. Other links to sites with information on this topic.
Lesson Plan
Ohio State University

Osu History Teaching Institute: The Cotton Gin

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson will help students understand the importance of the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1794.
Website
Other

Eli Whitney Museum: Eli Whitney

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
Primary
US National Archives

Our Documents: Patent for Cotton Gin (1794)

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
Handout
PBS

Pbs Who Made America? Eli Whitney

For Students 9th - 10th
In popular mythology, Eli Whitney has been deemed the "father of American technology," for two innovations: the cotton gin, and the idea of using interchangeable parts.
Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: How Inventions Change History (For Better and for Worse)

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief video that describes the unintended consequence of Eli Whitney's cotton gin. [5:14] Followed by a quiz and a list of additional resources to explore.
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Crowning of King Cotton

For Students 5th - 8th
Read how an invention made it possible to increase the amount of cotton available for export, thus leading to an increase in the number of acres planted in cotton, and resulting in the need for more and more slaves. Before the invention...
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Cotton and African American Life

For Students 6th - 8th
But for the invention of the cotton gin, slavery perhaps would have died out in the United States in the early 19th century. Read about why technological advances caused the spread of slavery in the South and read about how slaves clung...
Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Eli Whitney

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Website
Digital History

Digital History: Antebellum Slavery

For Students 9th - 10th
The ideals of liberty after the Revolutionary War brought freedom to many slaves. Read about why the institution of slavery rebounded after the introduction of the cotton gin.
Website
A&E Television

History.com: Black History Milestones

For Students 9th - 10th
A detailed account of the history of African Americans is presented in this article. Divided by main topics or periods of time, the coming of slavery to America is the first focus. Followed by plantation life and escapes to freedom and...
Handout
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: A History of Us: Wake Up, America!

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource covers the changing of America due to the Industrial Revolution which brought in not only new technology but also opened the door to reform movements. From the series by Joy Hakim, "A History of Us." Includes a teacher's...
Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Movement South and Westward

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Handout
Enchanted Learning

Enchanted Learning: Inventors & Inventions From the 1700s

For Students 3rd - 6th
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...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Wake Up, America: Industrial Revolution in America [Pdf]

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
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.
Primary
US National Archives

Nara: Teaching With Documents: Revolution and the New Nation (1754 1820s)

For Students 9th - 10th
Links to primary source documents from the revolution to the new nation.