Freeman 2
Lowell Offering
more on US industrialization

the first large factories in the US were intentionally not hellish like England

labor was scarce so initially spinning mills in the US were small until the War of 1812 stopped imports from England

Jefferson and other leaders were worried about factories before 1812

cotton growing in the US took off only after the invention of the cotton gin in 1793

Frances Cabot Lowell formed a corporation:

Lowell:





canal map
        of lowell
detail from 1850 plan of Lowell

but where was the labor going to come from?mill girls

Mr. Lowell was proud of the utopian factory system--but at the same time it was the best way to make money

This system only lasted about 20 years before wages were lowered and immigrants increasingly hired
factories were increasingly built in cities using steam power

Lewis Hine photos of child workers and in South Carolina