本文是历史专业的Essay代写范例，题目是“Eli Whitney: How One Man’s Invention Changed America（伊莱·惠特尼:一个人的发明如何改变了美国）”，1794年，美国出生的发明家伊莱·惠特尼设计并发明了轧棉机。轧棉机是一种简单的机器，它极大地加快了从柔软的白色棉纤维中去除微小绿色种子的过程，使棉花更便宜，更有利可图，从而彻底改变了棉花生产。
到19世纪中期，棉花已经成为美国的主要出口产品，在惠特尼轧棉机的帮助下，美国的棉花产量增长并出口了世界上大部分的棉花供应。虽然成功了，但由于专利侵权问题和其他人试图创造他们自己的变种惠特尼的机器，杜松子酒对惠特尼来说并不是一项有利可图的发明。惠特尼的杜松子酒，无意中导致了南方奴隶和奴隶主数量的增加。它也给南方种植园主一个理由来维持和扩大奴隶制，即使奴隶制在美国越来越不受欢迎。
Abstract摘要
In 1794, U.S.-born inventor Eli Whitney designed and invented the cotton gin. The cotton gin was a simple machine that revolutionized the production of cotton by greatly speeding up the process of removing tiny green seeds from soft, white cotton fibers, making cotton more affordable and profitable. By the mid-19th century, cotton had become America’s leading export, and with the help of Whitney’s cotton gin, America was growing and exporting a large majority of the world's supply of cotton. Although successful, the gin was not a lucrative invention for Whitney due to patent-infringement issues and others attempting to create their own variation of Whitney’s machine. Whitney’s gin, inadvertently, led to an increase in the number of slaves and slaveholders in the South. It also gave Southern plantation owners a justification to maintain and expand slavery even as it was becoming less and less popular throughout America.
How the Cotton Gin Changed America轧棉机是如何改变美国的
Eli Whitney, an American inventor, born on December 8, 1765 in Westborough, Massachusetts, unknowingly invented a simple machine that caused a massive expansion of slavery in the U.S that would arguably play a role in what led to the Civil War. In the late 18th century, cash crops and plantations were on the decline due to soil exhaustion from decades of farming and a loss of interest. As a solution, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. This simple invention rejuvenated plantation owner’s interests and they turned to cotton farming as a quick way to get rich. The cotton gin was a huge success and catapulted America towards an economic boom. Unfortunately, these enormous plantations required more slaves than ever, leading to conflict between the North and South. Ultimately, the cotton gin increased tensions between the North and South over the wide use of slavery. Americans were becoming more and more uncomfortable with the use of slaves. This played a large role in the War Between the States.
美国发明家伊莱·惠特尼于1765年12月8日出生在马萨诸塞州的韦斯特伯勒，他在不知情的情况下发明了一种简单的机器，导致了美国奴隶制的大规模扩张，这可能是导致内战的原因之一。在18世纪后期，经济作物和种植园由于几十年的农业耕作导致土壤枯竭和人们失去了兴趣而衰落。为了解决这个问题，伊莱·惠特尼发明了轧棉机。这个简单的发明重新激发了种植园主的兴趣，他们转向种植棉花作为快速致富的途径。轧棉机取得了巨大的成功，将美国带向了经济的繁荣。不幸的是，这些巨大的种植园比以往任何时候都需要更多的奴隶，导致了南北之间的冲突。最终，轧棉机增加了由于奴隶制的广泛使用，南北之间的紧张关系。美国人对奴隶的使用越来越不舒服。这在南北战争中发挥了重要作用。
It is a well-known fact that Eli Whitney invented and patented the first cotton gin that would help begin the Industrial Revolution. For many, the story ends there. However, there is a more interesting yet complicated version of the story that many do not know. Whitney was born in a small farming town of Westborough, Massachusetts where his father learned to be a successful farmer. As a child, Eli learned to make musical instruments and bend metal into nails and knife blades. He also learned to work on his father’s farming equipment. At twenty three years old, he attended Yale College, where he would later graduate with honors (Allott 2014). After graduating from Yale College, Whitney accepted a job to work as a private tutor. While on his way to South Carolina for his new tutoring job, he met Catherine Green, a plantation owner in Savanah, Georgia. He accepted an invitation to stay with her and her husband, Phineas Green where he would learn about cotton production. It was there that he learned how particularly difficult it was to make a living farming cotton.
众所周知，伊莱·惠特尼发明了第一台轧棉机并申请了专利，这有助于开启工业革命。对许多人来说，故事就此结束。然而，这个故事还有一个更有趣、更复杂的版本，很多人都不知道。惠特尼出生在马萨诸塞州韦斯特伯勒的一个农业小镇，他的父亲在那里学习成为一名成功的农民。伊莱小时候就学会了制作乐器，并将金属弯曲成钉子和刀片。他还学会了在父亲的农具上干活。23岁时，他进入了耶鲁大学，并在那里以优异的成绩毕业(Allott 2014)。从耶鲁大学毕业后，惠特尼接受了一份私人教师的工作。在去南卡罗来纳做家教的路上，他遇到了凯瑟琳·格林，乔治亚州萨瓦纳的一个种植园主。他接受了邀请，与她和她的丈夫菲尼亚斯·格林住在一起，在那里他将了解棉花生产。正是在那里，他了解到靠种植棉花为生是多么困难。
At the time, cotton was thought to be the best harvest grown for the area. It was disease free and could be stored without spoiling like perishable food crops. The main problem with cotton farming was the removal of the sticky, green seeds found throughout the cotton fibers. On average, a cotton picker could remove the seeds from only about one pound of cotton per day. Whitney would soon build a machine that could remove the troublesome seeds from the cotton fibers. The invention, called the cotton gin, used hooks to pull the cotton fibers across a mesh. The mesh effectively let the seeds through, leaving the soft cotton fiber behind. Smaller versions could be cranked by hand, whereas, larger ones were powered by a horse. As technology improved and the need arose, a much larger version would be powered by a steam engine. Whitney’s smaller, hand-cranked machine could remove the seeds from 50 pounds of cotton in a single day, thus, drastically increasing cotton production and catching the appeal of many farmers.
当时，棉花被认为是该地区最好的收成。它是无病的，可以储存而不像易腐烂的粮食作物那样变质。棉花种植的主要问题是去除棉纤维中粘稠的绿色种子。平均而言，一个棉花采集者每天只能从大约一磅棉花上摘除种子。惠特尼很快就会制造出一种机器，可以把麻烦的棉籽从棉纤维中去除。这项发明被称为轧棉机，用钩子将棉纤维拉过筛子。筛网有效地让种子通过，留下柔软的棉花纤维。较小的型号可以用手转动，而较大的型号则由马驱动。随着技术的进步和需求的增加，一个更大的版本将由蒸汽机提供动力。惠特尼的小型手摇机器可以在一天内从50磅的棉花中取出种子，从而极大地提高棉花产量，吸引了许多农民的注意。
In 1974, Whitney finally received a patent for his invention of the cotton gin. With his new patent, he planned to build cotton gins and install them on plantations throughout the South. Whitney and his new business partner, Phineas Miller, would produce as many gins as possible, and install them on farms throughout the Southeast. They decided the best way to make a profit, was to charge farmers a fee for doing the ginning for them. Their charge was two-fifths of the profit (Schur n.d.). Farmers were excited about the idea of a machine that would drastically increase cotton production. However, these farmers, not wanting to pay what was thought as a tax, had no intention of sharing any of their profits with Whitney or Miller. Instead, the idea and design for the cotton gin was copied, and plantation owners built their own machines. Frustrated, Miller attempted to bring law suits against the owners of these pirated versions, but because of poor wording of the 1793 patent act, they were unable to win any suits until 1800, when the law was changed (Schur n.d.)
Joan Brodsky Schur, a teacher at Village Community School, in New York, NY said, “However, like many inventors, Whitney (who died in 1825) could not have foreseen the ways in which his invention would change society for the worse. The most significant of these was the growth of slavery. While it was true that the cotton gin reduced the labor of removing seeds, it did not reduce the need for slaves to grow and pick the cotton. In fact, the opposite occurred. Cotton growing became so profitable for the planters that it greatly increased their demand for both land and slave labor. In 1790 there were six slave states; in 1860 there were 15. From 1790 until Congress banned the importation of slaves from Africa in 1808, Southerners imported 80,000 Africans. By 1860, approximately one in three Southerners was a slave.” (n.d.). As large plantations spread into the Southwest, the price of slaves and land led to the growth of cities and industries. In the 1850s, seven out of eight immigrants moved to the U.S. and settled in the North. It was there that they found 72% of the nation's manufacturing jobs.
纽约乡村社区学校的教师Joan Brodsky Schur说:“然而，像许多发明家一样，惠特尼(死于1825年)没有预见到他的发明将如何使社会变得更糟。其中最重要的是奴隶制的发展。虽然轧棉机确实减少了移除种子的劳动，但它并没有减少种植和采摘棉花的奴隶的需要。事实上，情况恰恰相反。棉花种植对农场主来说非常有利可图，这大大增加了他们对土地和奴隶劳动力的需求。1790年，美国有六个蓄奴州;1860年有15个。从1790年到1808年国会禁止从非洲进口奴隶，南方人从非洲进口了8万名奴隶。到1860年，大约三分之一的南方人是奴隶。(无日期)。随着大型种植园向西南地区扩展，奴隶和土地的价格导致了城市和工业的发展。在19世纪50年代，每8名移民中就有7名移民到美国，并在北方定居。正是在那里，他们找到了全国72%的制造业工作。
Eli Whitney is commonly recognized as the inventor of the cotton gin; however, he is not commonly credited for the conception of interchangeable parts. Interchangeability was not his original goal; however, it made for more rapid production and repairs (The Factory, n.d.). These new manufactured parts were now being machined and had fewer flaws. At the time, guns were built by individuals, so that each finished rifle was unique and often, imperfect. Whitney discovered how to monetize this by machining muskets, making the parts identical and interchangeable. This made rifle making much easier and quicker. It also required less man hours, thus lowering the cost. As a manufacturer, Whitney finally became wealthy, mass producing muskets for the United States government.
伊莱·惠特尼被公认为轧棉机的发明者;然而，人们并不普遍认为是他提出了可互换部件的概念。互换性不是他最初的目标;然而，它使生产和维修更加迅速(工厂，名词)。这些新制造的零件现在正在加工，缺陷更少了。当时，枪支是由个人制造的，所以每一支成品步枪都是独一无二的，而且往往并不完美。惠特尼发现了如何通过加工毛瑟枪来赚钱，使零件相同和可互换。这使得步枪变得更容易和更快。它还需要更少的工时，从而降低成本。作为一个制造商，惠特尼最终变得富有，为美国政府大量生产步枪。
It is thought that Whitney’s ingenious invention of the cotton gin and its production led to large plantations and slavery in the South. It also, however, played a pivotal role in helping create the technology that led to the North winning the Civil War. The mass production of the cotton gin led to tremendous amounts of slave manpower to plant and pick cotton to later be ginned by Whitney’s device. This production concept led Whitney to the idea of mass producing the musket. As cotton farming grew in the south and began spreading westward, slave labor increased concurrently. During this time, many Americans were uncomfortable with the practice of slave trading and their use as farm hands on large planation farms. This drove a large wedge between the North and the South. While the South was booming from farming and the cotton industry, the North was experiencing the same boom in the manufacturing and textile industry. When the War Between the States began, all the rifles, munitions, clothing, etc. was mass produced in the North. This made it very difficult for the South to outfit their soldiers with proper clothing and weaponry, thus giving the North an advantage.
人们认为，惠特尼的轧棉机的天才发明及其生产导致了南方的大型种植园和奴隶制。然而，它也在帮助创造导致北方赢得内战的技术方面发挥了关键作用。轧棉机的大规模生产，导致大量的奴隶劳动力种植和采摘棉花，然后用惠特尼的设备进行轧棉。这种生产理念使惠特尼产生了批量生产毛瑟枪的想法。随着南方棉花种植的发展和向西扩展，奴隶劳动也随之增加。在这段时间里，许多美国人对奴隶贸易的做法和奴隶在大的种植园里做雇工感到不舒服。这在南北之间造成了很大的分歧。当南方的农业和棉花工业蓬勃发展时，北方的制造业和纺织业也同样繁荣。南北战争开始时，所有的步枪、军火、服装等都是在北方大量生产的。这使得南方很难给他们的士兵配备合适的服装和武器，从而给北方带来了优势。
Eli Whitney may have created one of the single greatest inventions of the Industrial Revolution. However, his invention unknowingly had adverse effects. Arguably, Whitney’s cotton gin led to an increase in slave labor and ultimately, the Civil War. He is most widely known as the inventor of the cotton gin but more importantly, Whitney is credited as the father in the development of the American system of mass-production used today.
伊莱·惠特尼可能创造了工业革命中最伟大的发明之一。然而，他的发明在不知不觉中产生了负面影响。可以说，惠特尼的轧棉机导致了奴隶劳工的增加，并最终导致了南北战争的爆发。他最广为人知的身份是轧棉机的发明者，但更重要的是，惠特尼被誉为今天美国大规模生产系统的发展之父。
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