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A Petition for the Cotton Gin

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Discussion Topic

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the right of people to petition the Government to share their opinion and ask for a specific action to be taken. Eli Whitney filed this petition with Congress concerning his invention: the cotton gin. Read, summarize, and analyze this petition for understanding.

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Carefully read and summarize the document.  Cite specific textual evidence to support your analysis of the document.

  • What was the Eli Whitney’s purpose in writing this document?
  • What are the central ideas of this document?
  • What evidence does Eli Whitney provide to support his argument?
  • How is the document organized? How does the Eli Whitney use the structure to support his argument?
public-domain
To the extent possible under law, National Archives Foundation has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to “A Petition for the Cotton Gin”