Digital History: The Introduction Of The Factory System - Research Paper Example

Technology: Birth of the Factory Introduction The industrial revolution in the eighteenth century was characterized of new inventions in technology, particularly newly-invented machines, such as Arkwright’s water frame and Watt’s steam-powered rotative engine which made cotton spinning faster and effective (O’Brien, 2007, p. 168). So-called gadgets (or machines) that were popularized in England were the spinning jenny, the water frame, and the steam engine, among others (Allen, 2009). Although technology was a prime mover for the industrial revolution, there were other factors that spawned the phenomenon and the economic development that followed. The woolen industry was predominant in areas in Yorkshire, the West Country and East Anglia while the Fustian industry was much developed in Lancashire. Most skilled work was provided by home-based family members who did not have capital to start business. By the later part of the eighteenth century, the cotton industry improved and developed swiftly. Technology made the cotton industry into a full-blown industry, with Lancashire as the centre of manufacturing. The woolen industry also got its share of new technology but continued to be as important as the cotton but was predominant in West Riding of Yorkshire. Factors that triggered cottage to factory size Spinning wheels were the first to be used in cotton making but with the invention of new technology, the spinning jenny, cotton making became large scale. Technology allowed the manufacture of millions of pounds of cotton. Spinning jenny was invented by James Hargreaves (as cited in Allen, 2009) in Lancashire, and was one of the machines that triggered the industrial revolution. Thus, technology transformed small scale businesses into industry. Technological changes were introduced in production of textiles; materials and transport also received innovations. Institutions played a role by encouraging technological progress; one example is the British patent system, and the importance of securing property rights, enforceable contracts, and constraints on the powers of the executive. There was an environment that British inventors and entrepreneurs had over the others, and an institutional advantage that ensured incentives for talented and resourceful individuals. The British provided a backdrop for a powerful and stable state leading the way for an expansion in the power, wealth, and stability of the central government while encouraging private individuals to participate in industrial technology and liberal commerce. (Mokyr & Nye, 2007, p. 52) Social consequences of the industrial revolution The political climate triggered the change of social structure. There were continuous parliamentary checks on the executive department and the legal system was becoming flexible. The changes were attributed to the Glorious Revolution of 1688 that gave rise to the parliamentary form of government, less government intervention, and more secure property rights for the people. These changes gave way to a favorable investment climate. Moreover, Adam Smith (as cited in Mokyr & Nye, 2007) argued that the merchants with their self interests overpowered the old, local feudal limitations, bringing development to towns and rural areas, and business-minded people and groups “introduced order and good government and with them the liberty and security of individuals” (Smith, 1776 as cited in Mokyr & Nye, p. 52). With the introduction of power-driven machinery and the rapid improvement of the textile industry came the rise of the labor force, the increase of wages on both industrial and non-industrial labor, the growth of urban centers, and the increase of various occupations and commercial agriculture. The economic development brought along with it changes in family life, family size was reduced but life expectancy increased. The American competition: From Samuel Slater to Lowell Mills The British industrial revolution was replicated in the United States with the introduction of the spinning jenny, water frame, and spinning mule. Soon, British exports flooded the American market and inventions of the power-driven machines started with the spinning mill constructed in Rhode Island. This was made possible by Samuel Slater, an English immigrant who knew the workings of the textile machines when he was an apprentice of the firm Arkwright & Strutt. He went to America to apply at the mill owned by William Almy and Moses Brown. Slater was accepted as manager and he was promised of all the profits from the mill if he could make the business a success. Slater did succeed. At first, he hired seven boys and 2 girls and instructed them how to operate the 72 spindles. The children worked overtime with Slater introducing the so-called motivation by punishment: he punished them with a leather strap or poured water on them while they were working. In those times, there were no civil rights groups and employers could do whatever they wanted of their workers. The children worked wonders on the machines. (Digital history: The introduction of the factory system, 2013, para. 2) With the support of William Almy and Moses Brown, Slater reconstructed the Arkwright water frame and started a cotton yarn production under the newly founded firm Almy, Brown, & Slater, which existed from 1790 up to 1840. The company became a pioneer in large scale production, became instrumental to the rise of other companies, and formulated business practices later known as the Rhode Island System. The firms also copied British business practices by employing entire families including children. (Dublin, 1979, paras. 1-2) The initial successes of the textile mills brought new challenges, such as the introduction of new factories, including migration and urbanization in New England. The Boston merchant Francis Lowell began a power loom production in Massachusetts after he visited a factory in Great Britain. Lowell founded the Boston Manufacturing Company. The Waltham-Lowell system and the Rhode Island system both became pioneers in cotton mills and spread all throughout different states. At mid-century, textile mills became the leading industrial employers. The New England textile company employed approximately 85,000 and produced goods worth $68 million annually. (Dublin, 1979, paras. 3-4) The transformation of the American textile mills: Women and migrants, 1810-1850 The power loom in nineteenth century American textile production led to a change in the character of the labor force. The power loom and the dressing frame processes required women workers. The Waltham company required young, single women to be introduced into the new workforce. The firm soon recruited young women from even the countryside and built boarding houses for them. Management also introduced new wage schemes different from the Rhode Island counterpart. The transformation of American women to working women also transformed them into protesters. In 1834, mill women staged their protests on low wages; hundreds of Lowell mill women protested a wage reduction. Strikes over wages were also made two years later involving about two thousand women. Despite the existence of textile mills, there were entrepreneurial endeavors introduced in households by merchants. These were called “outwork” and the merchants were the “culprits” when they provided raw materials and paid wages to households composed of farmwomen and their daughters. The women earned wages from their homes after making hats made of straw and palm leave. It seemed history repeated itself. Before the invention of the sewing machine, women used to sew parts of shoes at home and sent their finished part of shoes to factories (Boyer et al., 2008, p. 266). Before manufacturing plants became fully independent, they depended on outwork. These were predominant in New York and Philadelphia, cities that did not have flowing rivers that made those machines in New England work. It was therefore unnecessary to hire workers in large factories as individual workers could work at home. But the manufacturing plants became industrial centers. Owners of these plants would scour orders for consumer goods from the country. They also hired women who were mostly unskilled to work in their homes. References Allen, R. (2009). The industrial revolution in miniature: The spinning jenny in Britain, France, and India. The Journal of Economic History, 69(4), 901-926. Retrieved from http://economics.ouls.ox.ac.uk/12302/1/jenny5-dp.pdf Boyer, P., Clar, C., Kett, J., Salisbury, N., & Sitkoff, H. (2008). The enduring vision: A history of the American people. Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage Learning, Inc. Digital history: The introduction of the factory system, 2013. Retrieved from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3518 Dublin, T. (1979). Women and the early industrial revolution in the United States. Retrieved from https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/jackson-lincoln/essays/women-and-early-industrial-revolution-united-states Mokyr, J. & Nye, J. (2007). Distributional coalitions, the industrial revolution, and the origins of economic growth in Britain. Southern Economic Journal, 74(1), 50-70. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxymu.wrlc.org/ O’Brien, P. (2007). Atlas of world history. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More