In 1871, Adams received a patent on a gum-making machine and began mass-producing chicle-based gum. He gave some to a local store to see if people would buy it they did and he began production. Disappointed with the rubber experiments, Adams boiled a small batch of chicle in his kitchen to create a chewing gum. Adams' efforts at vulcanization failed, but he noticed that Santa Anna liked to chew the chicle, which the ancient Mayans had done. Adams, a photographer and inventor, intended to vulcanize the chicle for use as a rubber substitute. He persuaded Thomas Adams of Staten Island, New York, to buy it. He brought Mexican chicle with him in hopes of selling it to raise funds to help him return to power in his home country.
In 1869, exiled former Mexican president and general Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (famous for losing the Texas War of Independence) was living in New Jersey. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.
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