Image Credit:

• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Cotton_gin_EWM_2007.jpg

One day before the 80th Anniversary of the Stock Market Crash of 1929, and for many this week seems to be working in that direction, I would like to take this opportunity to present a historical evaluation of the importance of October 28th.

For the true conspiracy theorists in the audience this may blow your mind. Not as much as “Paranormal Activity” but a close second.

Many significant events transpired on this hallowed day in history but the unprecedented significance is almost mind boggling. Truth be told, I wanted to use the phrase “mind boggling” for some time and could not find a true fit until now.

Let me outline and then explain my discovery:

1 – October 28, 1636 – Harvard was founded
2 – October 28, 1793 – Eli Whitney filed for a patent for the cotton gin
3 – October 28, 1886 – The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in the New York Harbor by President Grover
Cleveland.

Many other significant events occurred on this day including the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, Benito Mussolini taking control of Italy in 1922, and the first Macy’s Department Store opened in New York City in 1858 but the critical importance of these three events on the same day in history is truly amazing.

Harvard is considered the foremost pinnacle of higher education, setting the standards for the entire country and the world. Setting the bar for ethics, morals, educational standards and reputation has made Harvard a reputable giant in the world of academia.

Eli Whitney is considered by many historians as the Grandfather of the Industrial Revolution. The cotton gin created a breakthrough in mass production tooling and process. This invention would open the doors to the world we live in today.

Finally, the Statue of Liberty. Lady Liberty needs no introduction. For millions that landed on Ellis Island to call America home, this is the symbol of liberty, freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of honor, respect, loyalty and most importantly all the freedoms we celebrate each and every day.

As one observer, I am truly taken back by this new found knowledge. Three events that paved the way for education, industrialization, and freedom all began their reign on October 28th.

Too Academic excellence, modern industry and democracy….Cheers!

Today in 1793, inventor Eli Whitney filed a patent for the cotton gin.

By the late 18^th century, slavery was already ingrained in American culture. However, it was the rise of the Cotton Kingdom that made slavery become invaluable to Southern planters and it was Whitney’s invention that opened the door to this kingdom. Before the cotton gin, planters had discovered that short fiber cotton would grow in the lower South. This cotton, while was perfect for the cotton textile factories in the North, was extremely difficult to be harvested. The cotton contained sticky green seeds that were difficult to remove and had to be done by hand, making it a very long and expensive process.

Enter Whitney. He had graduated from Yale and was working in Georgia as a private tutor. He saw first hand the difficulties with picking the cotton. He invented a simple device that quickly separated the seed from the cotton (see illustration). The cotton gin, as it was called, made the buying and selling of cotton on a large scale possible. Whitney’s original plan for his invention was to charge the farmers for the cleaning of their cotton and charge them 2/5 of their profits. However, planters saw the simplicity in the machine and began copying his ideas. The invention revolutionizes the slavery system. The cotton gin allowed a laborer, or more likely a slave, to clean fifty pounds of cotton a day (before the gin only a pound a day could be cleaned). This meant that slaves could quickly pick and clean large amounts of cotton, which the planter could sell to the northern factories for a tidy profit. And of course, the more slaves a planter owned, the more cotton he could produce and sell. With that extra profit, this planter could buy more slaves and the cycle continued!

In the South, cotton production soared. It quickly accounted for 60% of the world’s supply of cotton and two-thirds of all American exports. Northern factories were able to make a profit from cotton by turning into cloth. From there, the Northern merchants shipped the textiles to Europe and back to the South.

In 1793, the year the cotton gin was invented, the United States produced five million pounds of cotton. By 1820, 170 million pounds of the crop had been produced! It would remain the staple of the South’s economy until the Civil War.

.

Hallo,

Whitney’s fledgling company made 32 employees redundant today mauger the undeniable popularity of his contraption. Whitney sites the massive influx of counterfeit cotton gins as the source of his vexation. Making matters worse, tattle abounds that his patent renewal in ought-eight will be a tight scratch indeed.

Maybe you should price them to move, you greedy Ragamuffin!

Tabitha Babbitt (1784–1853) was an early American tool maker who is credited with inventing the first circular saw used in a saw mill in 1813. She was a member of the Shaker community in Harvard, Massachusetts.
She was watching men use the difficult two-man pit saw when she noticed that half of their motion was wasted. The first circular saw she made is in Albany, New York. She also shares the invention of cut nails with Eli Whitney. A Shaker, Babbitt never patented any of her inventions.
Source Cited: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tabitha Babbitt (1784–1853) was an early American tool maker who is credited with inventing the first circular saw used in a saw mill in 1813. She was a member of the Shaker community in Harvard, Massachusetts.
She was watching men use the difficult two-man pit saw when she noticed that half of their motion was wasted. The first circular saw she made is in Albany, New York. She also shares the invention of cut nails with Eli Whitney. A Shaker, Babbitt never patented any of her inventions.
Source Cited: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

World-changing events unfold before your eyes in these amazing tales of inventions and discovery. In these graphic novel format books, see how inventors, scientists, and businesspeople have shaped our world.

Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin (Graphic Library, Inventions and Discovery series) is available at Amazon for $7.95. To Order click here
Amazon Product Pages contain a lot of other details on this product as Customer Reviews, Sales Ranking, Special Offers, Alternate products that customers are going for and much more.Want to read these details? click here

Want to get some other Format / Binding / Version? You can search for them from here

Other Products of Interest

• A Head Full of Notions: A Story About Robert Fulton (Creative Minds)
• Smokestacks And Spinning Jennys: Industrial Revolution (American History Through Primary Sources)
• Samuel Morse and the Telegraph (Graphic Library: Inventions and Discovery series)
• Thomas Jefferson
• Seeker of Knowledge: The Man Who Deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphs

Nuns with Guns Ready to Defend Nation...Imagine What They Could do With Handguns

Colt Worth $15 million in 1862 at death at age 47

On This Date In History: On this date in 1847, the Federal Government more or less began the arming of America with handguns. Not directly or on purpose, mind you, but it had the same affect.  Samuel Colt had invented his revolver in 1836, but he had no money.  Except for dueling, handguns

Colt 1847 Dragoon Revolver

were not that practical up to that time due to inaccuracy and also the fact you had to reload everytime you shot.  Most pioneers preferred big knives like the Bowie Knife for close in action.  Colt’s revolver solved that problem.  They had a rifled barrel for accuracy and the repeating percussion caps provided for several shots with cartridges making it simple to reload quickly.   But, Colt had no money and his guns were very expensive….too expensive for most Americans.  But on January 4, 1847 Sam got a contract from the US Army for 1000 revolvers. That gave him cash. The army liked it so much that they ordered more..that gave him more cash.  He then teamed up with Eli Whitney to more efficiently mass produce the weapons and suddenly the prices fell and everyone could afford them.  Naturally his business grew and between 1850 and 1860, Colt sold nearly 270,000 weapons of various types.  There was a saying after the Civil War that went something like this: “Abe Lincoln may have freed all men but Sam Colt made them equal.”

Today, gun control advocates point to the millions of handguns in America as reason for controlling their sale.  Others say that people need them for self defense and many states even have right to carry laws.  Some say the proliferation of guns as the cause of an increase in violent crime whereas others point to data that suggests handguns in the population has actually resulted in a decrease in crime.

Jeremiah Johnson Would Be Tough For Any Invading Foe

I won’t deal with that debate, but I will say that a college friend of mine once opined this…that is that the United States could never be conquered by an outside foe because it is the only country in history that has a generally armed population.  I think he has a point there.  Now, whether or not an outside invasion is ever likely or will ever be an issue is another topic, though one might say that it would never be an issue or be likely because everyone is armed.  I  mean, can you imagine any invading army trying to get to the boys in the mountains of Tennessee or West Virginia?  How about the Cajuns in South Louisiana?  The mountain men in the Rockies would be no easy task and I can tell you, the state of Texas would be the largest armed camp known to man.  Nevertheless,  it is what it is and on this date in 1847, the US Government was largely responsible for the proliferation of handguns across America….whether Uncle Sam knew it or not.

NAM Tue Evening Solution Not Very Good For Snow Here

Weather Bottom Line: This potential snow story, predictably, is not clear.  That is to be expected since we are so

GFS Tuesday Evening

far out.  Now, the GFS continues to be the most bullish with it taking a low coming up from the southwest right over  the top of us and then dragging down cold air.  It is claiming about 1.5 inches Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night followed by another inch late

NOGAPS Tue Evening

Thursday into Friday.  Then you have the NOGAPS, which is a tropical model, calling for a similar story except it doesn’t want to keep things all that cold and has no precipitation after Wednesday.  Then we have the NAM, which I only have through 84 hours and if I were to interpolate a position down the line, I’d say it runs the low well to our northwest, thus keeping us in an all rain scenario.  You can see the comparisons between the three.  They are all from the Saturday 12Z run and are all for 84 hours, which is Tuesday evening.  The pink line is the 540 thickness line which you can roughly use as the freezing line.  Note how far away it is with the NAM.  So, its still the same thing….warmer on Sunday with rain and then rain Tuesday, especially late Tuesday.  Wednesday temperatures fall and snow is possible, not probable at this point.  My gut feeling has been we’d get some accumulation, though nothing overly large.  But, this NAM solution makes me hesitate.

While we were vacationing with Sue and her mother in Seattle this past September, Sue requested a commission for a painting to go over her mantel in her Huntsville home. She wanted something related to her new home state and her first thought was a cotton field landscape. A few weeks ago, I came up with some ideas and sent her some sketches via e-mail and this painting was the end result.

The 36×48 painting is done on gallery wrap canvas with acrylic paint. I haven’t painted in a few years, but as soon as I got started, it all came back to me. I don’t have an exact estimate of time, but the painting took less than 10 hours, spread over two days, to complete—although I was still touching it up the morning we left!

With the much-welcomed help of my dad and my friend Debbi, I was able to tweak several things when I got stuck mid-way. Debbi suggested adding more green to the foreground so it would complement the treeline. When I showed the initial digital sketches to my dad, he said, “That can’t be an Alabama cotton field. Where are the rolling hills and trees?” Dad grew up in Mississippi and Alabama and spent some time in cotton fields, so I took his advice and added trees and rolling hills. He also offered suggestions on how to make the foreground blend more with the treeline and sky so it didn’t look like two separate paintings, and to make the furrows not as dark and flat. I am grateful for their suggestions because the changes made for a much more cohesive painting—one that I was proud to present to Sue!

Toward the end, I still wasn’t happy with the lackluster sky and desperately needed a muse. On Friday, while I was out running last minute errands, the Virginia sky became my inspiration—I finished the painting that evening (in between cleaning the house, paying bills, and packing computer equipment, camera gear, and clothes for the trek to Texas the next day!)

After packing the car early Saturday morning, there was just enough room to slide in the oversized painting. It made the 10+ hour trip to Huntsville without incident. After we got back from lunch and shopping Sunday evening, I whipped out a 6×6 gallery wrap miniature painting depicting three cotton buds blossoming (it’s on the little easel to the left of the painting). Now Sue and Steve (and their cats, Matilda (pictured) and Pante (the antisocial boy) have a painting of an Alabama cotton field under a Virginia sky gracing their great room!

Learn how cotton is grown here. Click here and learn about Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin and a pioneer in the mass production of cotton. Learn about the origin of denim, what makes towels absorbent, how the t-shirt got its name, and other interesting cotton-related facts on www.cottoninc.com.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, and he then went on to try to sell rifles to the Army. His rifles were special…

Eli’d had a brilliant idea: if multiple rifles were built with identical parts, then soldiers could swap out parts and from, say, three broken rifles come up with two good ones. The advantages of this in a combat environment are, I trust, obvious. Eli manufactured some common rifle parts, and invited the Army for a demonstartion. His process wasn’t perfect, and if the visiting Army inspectors had looked closely enough, they might have noticed that troublesome parts had been filed down here and there to make everything fit properly. But this was good enough for demonstration purposes; Whitney had a collection of functioning rifles, the parts of which could be freely mixed and matched.

These days machines with interchangeable parts are ubiquitous. My computer, my desk, my chair, virtually everything around me is manufactured with commonality of parts and components. If material culture weren’t so disposable, I could repair any broken device by swapping out its non-functioning components for cheap-off-the-shelf replacements. (Though as it happens, we usually just throw broken things away. It turns out interchangeable parts really drive down costs.) Henry Ford showed us that we could extend this principle to an automobile, and now even a fine machine like a Cadillac is affordable.

Ironically, one device that has proven the most resistant to interchangeability is the firearm. An AK-47, which is built to loose tolerances, can interchange its parts and still operate effectively. But more sophisticated weapons cannot; fire an M-16 and its firing mechanisms tend to settle in. An M-16 is a tighter, more precise, and in many respects better weapon that an AK-47, but it can’t be monkeyed with.

By the way, does anybody recognize this? It somewhat resembles an AK-47, but internally it is decidedly non-Kalishnikov.

Click for expanded views. Piston (small silver circle under the elevation adjustment) does not travel far. Comments?

There can be a temptation to treat people interchangeably. For fairness, we subject everybody to the same rules. But when rules become too restrictive, when the tolerances become too tight, individual differences can create friction. It takes all kinds to make a world, and people need space to be themselves. In a happily illustrative display of this, a fellow I work with showed a non-interchangeable skill involving, as it happens, firearms.

He carries a Makarov, a communist knock-off of the Walther PPK. The Makarov was the standard-issue Soviet sidearm from 1951-1991, and fires a 9.3mm round. The Soviets deliberately made the round too large to fit NATO weapons because they didn’t want invaders looting Soviet ammo caches. (Which kind of tells you which way they expected the war to go.) As far as I know, this particular coworker doesn’t have much other experience with firearms. He just carries his Makarov, and that is the gun he knows.

The Makarov is ubiquitous here, and we acquired two more of them recently. Our hero picked them both up to take to another room, and said immediately, “This one’s not right. It doesn’t feel right. Better not use it.” He gestured the gun in his right hand. The other gun he seemed to think was fine. Now, except for a difference in color, the two guns were outwardly identical:

Nobody else detected anything wrong with them either; they were typical Makarovs. Upon disassembly, we discovered that our coworker’s instant evaluation had been dead-on. Here are the slides from both pistols, side-by-side. Even if you know nothing about guns, you can see that the safety mechanism (a little catch-looking thing near the top) of one of these is badly worn:

Turn on the safety (when the safety is on, a gun can’t fire) for the gun on the left when there is a round in the chamber, and this gun will go off. A worn-down safety is a common problem on the Makarov, and a potentially deadly flaw. The coworker was absolutely right; it was a bad gun.

Most people can’t tell you there’s something wrong with a gun just by picking it up. This guy could, and like an M-16 that’s been fired a few too many times, he was unique. That sort of talent should always be given room to breathe, lest it go the way of the Cadillac. (And we all know where those things end up, right?)

The end!

The practice of placing such inane data as your name, phone number, and official title on a small piece of paper to give to others in a ritualistic ceremony known as networking began in the 1700’s.

It's business time.

It was late afternoon, and Eli “The Cotton Gin” Whitney was hard at work inventing. For Whitney, working was the same as getting drunk (thus the nickname), so he was well into a bender when he was reminded that he had to give a speech to the local Quakers. Never one to use his alcoholism as an excuse, Eli “manned up” and went to give the talk.

Upon reaching the stage, and realizing that he had forgotten what he was supposed to talk about, Eli quickly improvised. He asked for questions and before anyone could think of something to say, he took out a piece of paper on which he had drawn a stick figure of himself running naked through a field of cotton and yelled, “Anything further, here’s my info.” He walked off the stage with an: ”I’m out bitches.”

Eli Whitney, best known for inventing the cotton gin, was also a pioneer in mass-producing firearms.  There is little documentation, however, about this aspect of his engineering prowess. In a letter CHS recently acquired, Whitney himself provides some specifics.

The letter was written to John Adam of the Forbes & Adam foundry in Canaan.  Whitney (through his secretary who wrote the missive) specifies that the trip hammer be “made about one inch wide and let it be left without hardening.”  He also requests that Adam “forward my gudgeons, stakes, husk, hammer &c to Litchfield.”  Next he asks for help building a workforce, including “one or two nailers who are expert workmen & masters of the business . . . It is my intention to employ them in forging some of the light limbs of the musket.”

Accompanying the letter is an order sheet, seemingly in Whitney’s own hand, with specifications for three pieces of rolled iron, two “gudgeons made to patterns”, a husk, socket, 10 stakes, and a hammer and “Half a ton of rolled iron . . .”  On the verso are pencil patterns of the gudgeon.  These two documents complement our Forbes & Adam account book collection and provide valuable insight into and documentation of Eli Whitney and his gun manufacture.

One gallon zip-lock bag of field cotton, one pair of hands, and FIVE HOURS = very little to show for all that time. And I haven’t even finished!

My original idea was to take some of the cotton from the Homestead and spin up enough to knit something small - a bookmark or snowflake – so folks could see how nice cotton feels and show something made totally “from the land” like they did in the 19th century. I wanted to time this little project so I could explain to the kids who come on field trips how long it takes to make something without using modern machinery. Well, that was the plan. Originally, I had thought I would spin the cotton directly from the seeds; however, I tend to end up with sewing thread when I do that and I really wanted a laceweight or fingering weight yarn. So the next step was to take out the seeds so I could card the cotton and spin from a rolag or puni. So far it has taken five hours of pulling seeds and I still have about half of the zip-lock bag to do.

On the positive side, this very time-consuming method of taking the seeds out of the cotton has left me with pure, white, fluffy stuff. It looks just like a bag of clean Cormo fleece – absolutely beautiful! Unlike commercially processed cotton roving, there are no little bits of leaves or seeds in my cotton; this will spin up to a pure white cotton yarn and I am thrilled. However, I don’t think I will be doing this as an ongoing process. I am all for the cotton gin idea. Okay, so I have to pick out a bit of leaf or seed – at least that won’t take me the length of time I have to spend pulling all the seeds out. Makes me appreciate even more Eli Whitney and his cotton gin. Eli rocks!