Eli Whitney letters and detail drawings 1792-1890

ArchivalResource

Eli Whitney letters and detail drawings 1792-1890

This collection contains letters and drawings relating to the development, patenting, and copyright protection of Eli Whitney's cotton gin and Whitney's efforts to produce firearms for the federal government. Correspondents include Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Robert Fulton, Whitney's business partner Phineas Miller, Secretary of the Treasury Oliver Wolcott, arms inspector and Chief of the Ordnance Department Decius Wadsworth, financial backer James Hillhouse, Josiah Stebbins, superintendent of the Springfield Armory Roswell Lee, Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, Whiteny's brother Josiah Whitney, and his sister Elizabeth Blake. This collection is a photocopied portion of a larger collection: Eli Whitney Papers, Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. The entire collection is available on microfilm (6,857 frames on 7 reels, 35mm.) from Scholarly Resources, Inc., <http://www.gale.com/psm/>.

2 boxes (1 cubic foot)

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6911785

Georgia Historical Society

Related Entities

There are 9 Entities related to this resource.

Calhoun, John C. (John Caldwell), 1782-1850

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rp3z99 (person)

John Caldwell Calhoun (March 18, 1782 – March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina who served as the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. He is remembered for strongly defending slavery and for advancing the concept of minority states' rights in politics. He did this in the context of protecting the interests of the white South when its residents were outnumbered by Northerners. He began his political career as a nationalist, mo...

Wolcott, Oliver, 1760-1833

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6r2116t (person)

Governor of Connecticut, 1817-1827; Secretary of Treasury, 1795-1800. From the description of Letter, 1827 August 20. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122582959 Wolcott was a signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. He served as governor of Connecticut (1796-1797). From the description of [Letters] 1799-1811 / Oliv: Wolcott. (Smith College). WorldCat record id: 491419916 American lawyer and politician. F...

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60d5jrb (person)

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was an American statesman and third president of the United States. From the description of Thomas Jefferson letter, 1809. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 367818629 Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was the third president of the United States, born in Goochland (now Albemarle County), Virginia. He was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1769 to 1775, and with R. H. Lee and Patrick Henry initiated the inter-colonial committee of correspond...

Miller, Phineas d. 1803

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6r22fmj (person)

Yale university. Library

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sb821q (corporateBody)

Eli Whitney was born in Westborough, Massachusetts in 1765. Even as a child he showed an aptitude for mechanical work, repairing violins and taking on other mechanical work as it presented itself. Whitney set up shop making nails and when the demand for nails declined, he changed his business to manufacture hat pins, a commodity with increasing demand. Whitney eventually enrolled at Yale College in May 1789, and graduated three years later. He intended to further his education and become a lawye...

Stebbins, Josiah, 1766-1829

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hh7z37 (person)

Fulton, Robert, 1765-1815

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qn651p (person)

Civil engineer, artist, and inventor. From the description of Letter : New York, to Edward P. Livingston, Clermont, [N.Y.], 1814 February 11. (New York State Library). WorldCat record id: 50631960 Inventor, engineer, and artist. From the description of Papers, 1812-1815. (New York State Library). WorldCat record id: 50799372 Inventor. From the description of Robert Fulton papers, 1809-1838. (Columbia University In the City of New York). World...

Whitney, Eli, 1765-1825

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60r9v6v (person)

American inventor. From the description of Autograph letter signed : New Haven, Ct., to J.C. Calhoun, Secretary of War., 1824 May 3. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270872501 Eli Whitney (1765-1825), American inventor and gun manufacturer, received his patent for the first cotton gin in 1794. From the description of Whitney, Eli, 1765-1825 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10580711 Whitney, American inventor, especially known for ...

Madison, James, 1751-1836

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64850wc (person)

James Madison (1751-1836) was the fourth president of the United States, born in Port Conway, Virginia. He was a member of the Virginia legislature from 1776 to 1780 and from 1784 to 1786, and the Continental Congress from 1780 to 1783. His proposals at and management of the Constitutional Convention in 1787 earned him title "father of the U.S. Constitution." He cooperated with Alexander Hamilton and Jay in writing a series of papers (pub. 1787-88 under title of The Federalist) explaining the ne...