Freeman intro

what is a factory?

• mass production
• distant markets
• has machines powered by water, steam (or electricity) that make the work much faster
  

• efficiency
• economies of scale

symbols of the idea of progress
yet slavery provided funding and raw materials at the beginning

Modernity or the modern era

• rejection of tradition, embrace of what is new
• think of modern art and architecture
  
• started in the late 19th century
• we now live in a post-modern age
  

Abandoned factories

Factories in South Carolina:

• a few textile factories as early as the 1930s (same time as Lowell but smaller scale)
• but not many
• slavery made agriculture more profitable
• status was still based on owning land
• strong tradition
• after the civil war people in the south looked for new ways to make money--the new south--lots of factories get built in the south
• workforce mostly came from Appalachia
• factories in New England closed because southern factories could produce more cheaply
• now most textile production has moved to Asia
• for cheaper labor--and being able to make your product more cheaply means people buy more
  
• less regulation
• because of requirements to integrate the textile mills
• remaining textile production is high tech--very automated