How did the Rise of Factories Change American Family, Social, Economic, and Political Life?
After the war of 1812, people began to think manufacturing was a brilliant idea. Manufacturing inside the United States would benefit the economy tremendously. Manufactured goods appealed more to the people than homemade, the price was a lot cheaper.1 (textbook) In 1790 Samuel Slater brought over ideas from England to create the first cotton spinning mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island2 (Endnote the rise of Industry). Slater’s main source of employment was families, even young children. Mills were out in the middle of nowhere and the families had nowhere to live, so Slater was forced to build housing. The mill town was called Slatersville; it attracted many families. There were company everything, company housing, company church, and company store. They were paid in scripts or store credit. There was really no way of getting out of the mill life, the families were just kind of stuck there.3 (Textbook) By 1800, Slater expanded to other towns; they became so popular because unskilled people could easily work the machines.4 Cite
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Married women no longer just tended to the children, they also worked from home weaving cloth and fastening buttons.5 (Endnote from Slater Book) Since the land was cheap, everyone wanted to own a farm, not work in the factory.6 (Textile Factories) Married men usually farmed, but not all men had the option to farm. Some would help their wives weave cloth, while others were mechanics in the factory.7 (Slater Book) Children and young women were the ideal choice for factory labor; women could work a few years before getting married.8 (textile