Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

Whitney found out that they had no

easy way to separate cottonseeds from

cotton fiber so that the cotton could be

used. Whitney solved the problem by

inventing a machine called the cotton

gin (short for “engine”). The cotton gin

was an immediate success. Farmers were

able to produce far more cotton each

year. Between 1793 and 1800, U.S. cotton

production rose from about 3,000

bales (bundles) a year to 73,000 bales a

year.

The Green Room is one of the public rooms

on the first floor of the White House.

42 Whitney, Eli BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

Whitney also had ideas about how to

make things in factories. He first used

these ideas to make guns for the U.S.

government. Before his time, one skilled

worker made all the parts of a gun by

hand and then fitted them together.

Whitney used machines to make many

copies of each part. He then hired

unskilled workers to put the parts

together. Whitney’s factory made guns

faster and more cheaply than ever

before. His ideas changed the way factories

made all kinds of products. Whitney

died in New Haven, Connecticut, on

January 8, 1825.

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Cotton • Technology and Invention

Wichita

TheWichita are Native Americans of

Oklahoma. They once lived in what is

now Kansas. The city ofWichita, the

largest city in Kansas, was named after

the tribe.

TheWichita traditionally grew corn,

pumpkins, beans, squash, and tobacco.

They also hunted deer, antelope, bear,

and bison (buffalo). TheWichita lived

in round houses that looked like haystacks.

They built their homes by covering

a wood frame with grass. While

hunting theWichita lived in coneshaped

tents called tepees, which they

carried from place to place. They made

the tepees with animal skins.

Spanish explorers arrived inWichita

lands in the middle of the 1500s. At that

time theWichita lived near the Arkansas

River in what is now Kansas. By the

early 1700s they had moved south to

Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).

French explorers met the tribe there.

TheWichita became allies and trading

partners of the French.

Eli Whitney invented a machine called a

cotton gin in 1793. The machine had a set

of wire spikes set on a revolving cylinder, or

drum. As the cylinder turned around it

pulled raw cotton through the spikes. The

spikes combed the seeds from the cotton

and left the fibers.

A photograph from the 1870s shows a

Wichita man named Esadewar.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Wichita 43

 

In the late 1700s war with the Osage

Indians forced theWichita to move farther

south, into what is now Texas. During

the American CivilWar (1861–65)

theWichita returned to Kansas. In 1867

they moved to a reservation in Indian

Territory. At the end of the 20th century

there were about 1,500Wichita living in

the United States, mostly in Oklahoma.

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Native Americans

Wilder, Laura

Ingalls

Laura IngallsWilder wrote children’s

books about pioneer life in the United

States. She based her famous “Little

House” stories on her own childhood on

the American frontier.

Laura Elizabeth Ingalls was born on

February 7, 1867, in Pepin,Wisconsin.

She had three sisters. During her childhood

she and her family moved often

from one part of the frontier to another.

They lived in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri,

Kansas, Indian Territory (now

Oklahoma), and Dakota Territory (now

North and South Dakota).

At age 15 Laura began teaching in country

schools to help support the family. In

1885 she married Almanzo J.Wilder.

While in her 40sWilder began writing

articles for magazines. TheWilders’ only

daughter, Rose, liked hearing stories

about her mother’s youth. When Rose

became an adult, she asked her mother

to write down her tales of growing up

on the frontier. From 1932 to 1943

Ingalls published six books in the “Little

House” series. They included Little

House in the BigWoods and Little House

on the Prairie.

Wilder died in Mansfield, Missouri, on

February 10, 1957. The American

Library Association honored her in 1954

by creating the Laura IngallsWilder

Medal. The award is given to outstanding

writers and illustrators of children’s

books.

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Pioneer Life

Williams, Venus

and Serena

Venus and SerenaWilliams are sisters

who play tennis. They won many

important tournaments from 1999 to

the early 2000s. The two sometimes

Laura Ingalls Wilder

44 Wilder, Laura Ingalls BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

teamed up to win doubles (two against

two) championships. Each sister won

several singles championships as well. In

2002 they were the top two women

tennis players in the world.

VenusWilliams was born on June 17,

1980, in Lynwood, California. Serena

was born on September 26, 1981, in

Saginaw, Michigan. The sisters’ father,

Richard, taught them to play tennis

when they were very young.

TheWilliams sisters both became professional

tennis players at about age 14.

Being professional means that they

earned money for playing. In 1999 Serena

won the U.S. Open, a major tennis

tournament.

In 2000 Venus won another of the

major tournaments, this one in Wimbledon,

England. She and Serena won the

women’s doubles competition at

Wimbledon as well. Later that year

Venus won the U.S. Open for the first