Why did Whitney and his business partner Phineas miller choose to do with the cotton gin?

War of Independence, the U.S. recession, coupled with the UK's economic blockade, the American people want to enter the British market. And when the U.S. is sparsely populated, realized only through high-profit crops to enter the British market.

This is the background.

1792, Whitney graduated from Yale University. Whitney principal recommendation to South Carolina (South Carolina) State did tutor. Whitney alumni Phineas Miller (Phineas Miller) has been in Georgia (Georgia) State NASA Neil Green (General Nathanael Greene) General home to teach, keep a close watch after the death of General plantations. Miller and Mrs. Green are things in the north, then invited Whitney counterparts. Whitney is pleased to invited forward.

Mrs. Green is the war of independence in the exploits of the widow of General Greene. Was in Savannah (Savannah, GA) near a cotton plantation. Whitney's courtyard in Mrs. Green lived down. Whitney made a few pieces for her ingenious furniture, loved by Mrs. Green. Mrs. Green often face large areas of cotton to worry about, because a slave one day only hand-rolled one pound of cotton, which makes her not a lot of cotton.

Whitney knew, of Mrs. Green said: "Let me invent a machine to speed up the work." Dozen days later, Whitney took out the cotton gin model, after several tests, modified. The spring of 1793, successfully developed the cotton gin. Whitney cotton gin has two rollers, a roller covered with sharp iron teeth, to seize the cotton, and cottonseed separated from its other roller is short and hard hair, the first roller on cotton brush down. Using this machine, a rolling fifty pounds of cotton a day can be, five times to improve efficiency.