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".
PBS
Pbs Who Made America? Eli Whitney
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.
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.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Cotton Promotes Slavery
A brief history of how the economic growth of the South became dependent on the work of slaves and how this solidified the unity of the southern states. Links throughout the text will take to you sites containing relevant information.
Raleigh Charter High School
Mrs. Newmark's Page: The Industrial Revolution
Take this quiz to assess your knowledge on the industrial revolution.
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.
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Revolution and the New Nation (1754 1820s)
Links to primary source documents from the revolution to the new nation.
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...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Peculiar Institution
A very brief look at the "Peculiar Institution" of slavery in the South before the Civil War. Read about how slavery became so entrenced and why it drove a wedge between the North and South.
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...
Digital History
Digital History: Antebellum Slavery
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.
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How Inventions Change History (For Better and for Worse)
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.
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.
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.
A&E Television
History.com: Black History Milestones
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...
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...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: A History of Us: Wake Up, America!
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...
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.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Extension of Slavery
Outline on the extension of slavery and U.S. westward expansion, touching on the development of the cotton gin, Northwest Ordinance and Missouri Compromise.
Digital History
Digital History: Early Industrialization
Advances in technology affected manufacturing in the North and farming in the South. Read about how America turned from a country where most products were made in the home to an economic power that used factory production.
Agriculture in the Classroom
Nifa: Farm Machinery and Technology
A comprehensive timeline of the advancement of farming technology. Scroll through the 1800s-1840s to see the machinery introduced in this time period.
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.
PBS
American Experience: Technology Timeline: 1752 1990
Short descriptions of important technological innovations produced in America and the date of their introduction.