history 101

The missing link to your essay on the boom in domestic slavery is a little invention by Eli Whitney that was supposed to revitalize the Southern economy.  Originally called the Cotton Engine, it was later shortened to Cotton Gin.  Check out this schematic from an original 1794 patent.  How did the invention work?  Why did it create the need for more slaves instead of ending slavery as Whitney had hoped?  Why did Whitney fail to get his own patent for the invention?