After his death, Eli Whitney was described as "one of the most distinguished men who our country as produced." ...

On June 20, 1793, Eli Whitney, who had graduated from Yale the previous year, wrote to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, requesting a patent for his new invention, the cotton gin. The gin ...

Progress has different meanings for different people. And for people of African descent, the cotton gin was not progress. It was a further entrenchment of enslavement. And for African Americans ...

As part of a Dec. 5 discussion on the invention of the cotton gin and enslavement ... said it led to jokes about the enslavement of Black people. “It was humiliating and deeply embarrassing ...

"The kids began making jokes about Black people being enslaved ... class and involved a discussion surrounding cotton, the invention of the cotton gin and enslavement. As part of the discussion ...

"He was just one of those people who saw problems and wanted ... In 1790, there were just six "slave states." With the invention of the cotton gin, harvesting the product became easy and ...