The Cotton Gin patented!

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Audience/Grade:	College Freshman - Continuing Education
Discipline(s):	Biological Systems and Agricultural Engineering Engineering Diversity
Special Topic(s):	Black and African American Scientists and Engineers History of Technology
Learning Resource Type:	Reference - Article/Document
Media Type:	WWW
Author(s):	The African American Registry
Description:	This site hosted by the African American registry speculates that Eli Whitney got the idea of the cotton gin from a simple comb like device that slaves used to clean the cotton. "Whitney may have borrowed the idea, which though valuable was still incomplete. He may have used the principle behind the slaves' device and applied it to the broader problem how to clean large quantities of cotton. Another historian writing about the problems facing African American inventors has noted: "Whether slave or free the Negro could not proceed far in matters requiring the sanction of government except under the tutelage of some white man. Often what the Negro actually developed was exploited by the white man by whom he was employed or through whom he endeavored to find recognition."
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Use of Resource:	The African American Registry claims to be the largest African American History website in the world. The site has links to historical events and searchable database.
Difficulty:	Easy
Interactivity Level:	Medium