Which inventor contributed to the Industrial Revolution by inventing the cotton gin and promoting interchangeable parts?

• A. Thomas Edison
• B. Samuel Slater
• C. James Watt
• D. Eli Whitney

Answer: (D)

This question focuses on how a single inventor helped reshape manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution by improving both how goods were produced and how easily they could be repaired. The cotton gin, created by this inventor, sped up the cleaning of cotton fiber, dramatically increasing cotton production and expanding the demand for factory-based manufacturing. At the same time, he advocated for interchangeable parts—standardized components that could be swapped in and out during assembly and repair. This idea is a cornerstone of the mass-production system that characterizes industrial-era factories. While the other figures contributed in important ways to industrial progress—one advanced the use of electricity, another helped bring textile technology to the United States, and another improved the steam engine—none are associated with both the invention of the cotton gin and the promotion of interchangeable parts.