 |
| Civilian |
| 1765-1825 |
| Massachusetts
|
| Engineer |
|
Engineer Eli Whitney died 35 years
before the Civil War, but his most famous invention,
the cotton gin, set the economic stage for war. Whitney's
gin made cotton production far more efficient, fueling
the need for more Southern slaves and enriching powerful
planters. Another Whitney invention--muskets with interchangeable
components--inaugurated manufacturing systems for producing
uniform parts, without which the U.S. economy might
never have produced enough weapons to fight such a lengthy
war. |
