About the middle of the 18th century, gunsmith Honoré Blanc developed the concept of interchangeable parts for muskets. Blanc tried to interest other European gunsmiths, but they were not impressed by the idea. But he did interest the American Ambassador to France, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson quickly saw that mass production of weapons parts would free America from dependence on European sources for parts. He could not get Blanc to move to the United States but he did convince President George Washington it was a good idea. In 1798, Eli Whitney got the first contract for 12,000 muskets built under the new system. Whitney used a large force of unskilled workers and machinery to produce standardized identical parts at a low cost. This was about the time Gun manufacturers began to be distinguished from gunsmiths.