March 14, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Thursday, March 14.
My devotion today can be summed up in this familiar phrase, "one thing leads to another". On this day, in 1794, Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin. That word "gin" is short for "engine", and this new engine mechanically removed the seeds from cotton. Before Whitney's invention, this process was slow and labor intensive, and significantly reduced the profit margin of raising cotton.
In 1800, the American South produced just 750,000 bales of cotton, and was enduring a financial crisis. By 1850, it was churning out over three million bales a year and had become the most powerful agricultural region in the world. And one thing leads to another. In 1800, there were 700,000 slaves in the U.S., but fifty years later that number had skyrocketed to 3.2 million. The boom in the cotton industry, brought on by Whitney's invention, was a major factor in that change. The gin removed the seeds from cotton, but human beings still had to pick it.
And so, the cotton gin not only influenced the financial rise of the South, and the rise of slavery, but also played a part in setting the stage for the War Between the States. But, to use another familiar phrase, "there's two sides to every coin". Eli Whitney wasn't just known for this one invention, he also revolutionized the production of all machines, by developing the process called "interchangeable parts." This revolution allowed for easier, quicker, and less expensive production and repair of machines. And that invention, by 1850, had made the Northern states the most powerful industrial region in the world, and certainly played a part in the North's eventual victory in the war. One thing leads to another.
And since these little daily thoughts always have some spiritual connection, I leave you with lyrics of connection from one of my favorite worship songs -
You came from heaven to earth to show the way
From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay
From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky
Lord, I lift Your name on high!
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
