Early Modern Era
In the early modern era there was a lot of use of hand tools and human powered machines. Women typically cleaned cotton by hand until the use of something similar to a bow was used to make the process easier. Spinning cotton was also done by hand for some time in the early modern era women would use a spindle to spin cotton fibers. Eventually cottage looms were used to help spin and weave cotton faster to attempt to meet the demand of cotton. John Kay invented the fly-shutter which was a part that would replace the shutter on the loom to make the weaving process faster. In the late 1730s a man by the name John Wyatt developed a machine that would spin multiple spindles at once to produce cotton thread. It is suggested that Richard Awkwright who invented the spinning jenny copied the idea from John Wyatt, who was financially unable to get his machine idea patented. The spinning jenny was basically a spinning wheel tipped over which did not come along until the 1760s. (Dodge, Cotton)
Industrial Revolution and 20th Century
During the beginning of the Industrial Era the “Spinning Jenny” was invented. This machine increased the number of threads spun by 77. In the next four years the “Water Frame” was patented by Richard Arkwright. This was a machine that produced thread better than the spinning jenny and was also water powered. As years progressed inventions were made that were better at spinning thread. Such inventions were the “Mule” by Samuel Crompton which was a combination of the “spinning jenny” and “water frame”.
In 1794, Eli Whitney had his invention of the cotton gin patented. Eli and his business partner Phineas Miller planned how they could make a profit off the invention. But due to wording of the patent laws at the time farmers were getting away with making replicas of the cotton gin.
This website takes you to an animation of the how the cotton gin works: http://www.eliwhitney.org/7/sites/default/files/minisites/cotton/patent.html
Below is an image of Eli Whitney’s patent of the cotton gin
It was not until the 1800s when the patent laws were changed, that Eli was able to win against suing farmers, who were using their versions of his design. Also in the 1800’s steam engines were created that could be used within the cotton factories. Also the use of chemicals to dye, bleach and print cotton began to begin all in one factory. By 1812, a weaving machine or a power loom was created by Richard Robert. This meant the full processing of cotton could be done in one factory rather than multiple.
In the 1900s John Daniel Rust patented his invention of a spindle cotton picker. After Rust’s invention a commercial mechanized cotton picker became a popular option to be used by farmers though International Harvester Corporation. (Holley December 29, 2010)
Since then, modifications and improvements have been made to these inventions. For instance, today, cotton gins do not just simply separate the seeds from fiber. Today cotton gins are able to dry, sort, and clean cotton along with other various functions. Also today, cotton can be harvested by machines by picking 6 rows of cotton at a time.
Cotton 