Textile Mill Thesis

Along with the demand for cotton came a demand for labor. Black slaves from Africa were used to hand pick cotton in cotton fields, a tedious and daunting job. After Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin, cotton production skyrocketed from the average 3,000 bails per year to 300,000 bails per year. Unlike the north, the south lacked transportation improvements such as railways, roads, and water canals.

The North’s economy was based on textiles, shipping, and skilled trades. Their climate was not suited for the same type of agricultural products that the South produced like cotton, sugar, rice and tobacco. Northern states like New England manufactured and shipped goods like guns, clocks, plows and axes (page 399). One reason for the South’s dependence on slavery is because their economy relied on the existence of slave labor. For example, the cultivation of cotton depended largely on slave labor, with 75% of the crop grown on plantations,

In Maury Klein's. “The Lords and the Mill Girls,” industrialization is attempting to rid itself of the horrible standards adhered to at most European and other New England factories through the endeavor of the Lowell Mills. The Associates, who open the Lowell mills, attempt to create an atmosphere which is the best of both worlds. They want to create profit, but don't want to abandon their virtues and principles by creating an industrial district which, “degraded workers and blighted the landscape”(Klein). The key to their success is their working population. They seek civilized workers, who save money, attend church, and adhere to the pious principles of religion and culture(Klein). They find their laborers in women of the New England farmers,

Great post. The invention of the cotton gin immensely changed the American economy. Southern cotton farmers planted larger crops, while Northern textile factories grew up to take advantage of the sudden cheapness of cotton. By 1860, the American South provided roughly two-thirds of the cotton sold worldwide, shipping it from its flourishing ports such as New Orleans and Charleston. However, in order to harvest and process those crops, Southerners needed more workers. The population of enslaved workers increased by 1850, and a higher ratio worked in the cotton fields than ever before. By the time of the Civil War, the invention of the cotton gin had led to an American South heavily dependent upon slavery for its

The mills of Lowell, Massachusetts changed the lives of young girls throughout. During the Industrial Revolution, young girls and women worked in mills to earn pay while men worked in factories. The conditions, schedules, wages, and lifestyle of a mill girl had its pros and cons. From different accounts and documents; some girls liked the style of a mill girl and others suffered. But through the pain a mill girl might have suffered, being a mill girl was beneficial. It had an economical, social, and technological affect during the Industrial Revolution.

If a child were to work at the mill they would start out as young as ten years old. Most of the children that did work at the mill would got to school for about 6 hours then they would go to work for 7 or so hours. Also many of the women that did work at the mill their husbands had died so they had to provide for their children and they typically had more than two children. It was very rough at the mill, the air was filled with fumes and lint and it would get stuck in the worker's lungs and they would get really sick. It was terrible for the children to because they didn’t have a well developed immune system so they would get sick a lot quicker and they would get

During the late 1700s & early 1800s, there was an agricultural revolution in the U.S. that really benefited the south. Due to this revolution, the south heavily relied on slave labor and the demand for it went up. The cotton gin was invented and it leads to cotton becoming king. Two types of workers risen because of the industrial and agricultural revolution which were wage workers and slaves. Slaves were mostly used in the South and wage workers were used mostly in the North.

Working at the factory was not very enjoyable for the laborers for it involved a repetitive amount of work in an extremely hot environment. Factories were dirty and rarely cleaned, which caused the workers to get extremely sick. Sickness spread easily especially with everyone working in the same closed space.  Machines were unsafe and could potentially provoke life-threatening injuries. Children got involved for they were naive, cheap, and easier to control. Child labor continued to grow and many died or got sick because of this. The laborers were exploited, taken advantage of, and oppressed. Even if it harms other people, entrepreneurs and business owners would do whatever it takes to get their hands on the pot of gold. After all, money means

The Industrial Revolution started in the mid-1700s and rapidly spread industrialization to most of Europe. Because of the revolution, the iron production in Great Britain had increased by 518 times. Despite the positive outcomes of the factories, factory workers were exposed to dangerous conditions, including unprotected machines, which led to many unintended injuries and even death. Moreover, the factories took time away from school, leaving the workers without higher level knowledge and skills. The Industrial Revolution increased the overall standard of living of the lower class, however the poor working conditions and hindered education negated the gain of working in the factories.

The South gained its workforce through the African slave trade and once that ended in 1808 then it was domestic trade along with illegal smuggling. Also, a more gruesome way that slaves were produced was by breeding slaves like cattle. This was a common practice done by plantation owners, such as Mr. Covey, who “boasted that he bought her simply “as a breeder.” The “her” in this quote referred to a female slave that Mr. Covey had recently purchased and it was evident that she could not work to a great extent, so he knew that she would be used for something else, such as a “breeder”. This inhumane action allowed slave owners to keep slaves circulating throughout the South. Without this practice many would have either lost slaves or would have had to import more illegally from Africa. The realm of slavery would continue to grow with this even after the slave trade ended in 1808. Southern elites never hired an immigrant or local American for a job on the farm. All forms of labor were done by the slaves so that they did not have to pay for labor. Interestingly, the North had its own form of slavery called ‘wage slavery’ that was used to amass a large enough workforce to work in the factories. The people who had this job were called ‘slavers’ and one particular slaver for the Lowell factories rode in a “long, low, black’ wagon” that was “paid a dollar a head for all

Cotton was still a major industry in the South after the Civil War, but iron and tobacco became strong competitors. There was an increase in Southern cotton mills. In 1800, there were one hundred and sixty mills; in 1900, there were over four hundred mills. There were, however, racist hiring practices. Very few blacks acquired jobs. This was justified by mill owners because whites suffered in competition with blacks for agricultural jobs. The counterargument may be that they were not jobs, because the blacks were slaves and not paid. Southerners found large coal and iron ore reserves, and thereby had a tremendous growth in iron and steel mills. Eventually though, these mills became controlled by foreign investors and Northerners around 1900. Tobacco was traditionally grown in the South, but factories for processing were not developed until post Civil War in 1900. Outside capitalists also controlled these industries. The Northerners reconstructed the Southern economy—one that they controlled—but did not change much in the South itself, which still had multiple racial and social issues.

The mill’s owners and managers had little impetus to change the way in which they had always conducted business and treated employees. With limited employment options in the area, the majority of the people who lived in the town were mill employees. This was

rights of religion. The two parts balance and check each other in the most secure

They opposed increasing use of machines because it affected their job opportunities in adverse ways. Industrial workers usually worked a twelve-hour day and were paid very little. Also, factories preserved poor health and safety conditions (Tindall, 644). Industry owners started firing workers when the use of machines in industries started increasing. Interests of industrial workers were severely and adversely affected which made them angry and dissatisfied. They found that industrialization was against their interests, and they decided to oppose it in every possible

I realized the title of the story “Hills Like White Elephants” holds great value to the true meaning of the story being the conflict between the man and woman. In the story, you can also quickly appreciate the color-symbolism being used throughout. This color-symbolism greatly helps aid in understanding the American man and womans conflict. Depending on who you ask in the relationship, the conflict they have is with an unwanted pregnancy and the title helps you vastly understand this disagreement. The title helps show the extreme buildup of tension that the relationship has so much of.