Chapter 15

ELI WHITNEY.

The home of General Greene in Georgia--The soldier's widow--An arrival from New England--The young schoolmaster--A mechanical genius--Early history of Whitney--Mrs. Greene's invitation--Visit of the planters--State of the cotton culture in 1792--A despondent planter--Mrs. Greene advises them to try Whitney--Origin of the cotton gin--Whitney's first efforts--His workshop--The secret labors--How he provided himself with materials--Finds a partner--Betrayal of his secret--He is robbed of his model--He recovers it and completes it--The first cotton gin--Statement of the revolution produced by the invention in the cotton culture of the South--Opinion of Judge Johnson--The story of an inventor's wrongs--Whitney is cheated and robbed of his rights--The worthlessness of a patent--A long and disheartening struggle--Honorable action of North Carolina--Congress refuses to extend the patent--Whitney abandons the cotton gin--Engages in the manufacture of firearms--His improvements in them--Establishes an armory in Connecticut, and makes a fortune--Death.