codio
Stephany Codio
Chapter 8 Sec. 4: The changing workplace
Industry changes work
Before girls began to leave the farms for New England’s textile, they had spun and sewn most of their families clothing and raw fibers.
In the 19th century, almost all clothing manufacturing was produced at home.
The textile industry pioneered the new manufacturing techniques that would affect rules and behavior required of most American workers.
-Rural Manufacturing:
Until the 1820s, only the first step of clothing- the spinning of cotton into thread- had been mechanized widely in America.
Cottage industry- in which manufacturers provided the materials for goods to be produced at home.
When entrepreneurs like Patrick Jackson, Nathan Appleton, and Francis Cabot Lowell opened their weaving factories in Waltham and later Lowell, Massachusetts, their power looms replaced the cottage industries.
-Early factories
Textiles lead the way, but other areas of manufacture also shifted from homes to factories
In the early 19th century, skilled artisans had typically produced items that a family could not make for itself
Furniture
Tools
The most experienced artisan had titles: Master- might be assisted by a journeyman, a skilled worker employed by a master and assisted by an apprentice, a young worker learning a craft.
The rapid spread of factory production revolutionized industry.
The cost of making household items and clothing dramatically dropped.
New machines allowed unskilled workers to perform tasks that once had employed trained artisans
Unskilled artisans shifted from farm work to boring factory work .
Farm worker to factory worker
Under strict control of female supervisors, a work force – consisting almost entirely of unmarried farm girls- clustered in Lowell and the other mill towns that soon dotted new England
At their boarding houses, the “mill girls” lived under strict curfews. The girl’s behavior and church attendance was closely monitored, but despite this
Chapter 8 Sec. 4: The changing workplace
Industry changes work
Before girls began to leave the farms for New England’s textile, they had spun and sewn most of their families clothing and raw fibers.
In the 19th century, almost all clothing manufacturing was produced at home.
The textile industry pioneered the new manufacturing techniques that would affect rules and behavior required of most American workers.
-Rural Manufacturing:
Until the 1820s, only the first step of clothing- the spinning of cotton into thread- had been mechanized widely in America.
Cottage industry- in which manufacturers provided the materials for goods to be produced at home.
When entrepreneurs like Patrick Jackson, Nathan Appleton, and Francis Cabot Lowell opened their weaving factories in Waltham and later Lowell, Massachusetts, their power looms replaced the cottage industries.
-Early factories
Textiles lead the way, but other areas of manufacture also shifted from homes to factories
In the early 19th century, skilled artisans had typically produced items that a family could not make for itself
Furniture
Tools
The most experienced artisan had titles: Master- might be assisted by a journeyman, a skilled worker employed by a master and assisted by an apprentice, a young worker learning a craft.
The rapid spread of factory production revolutionized industry.
The cost of making household items and clothing dramatically dropped.
New machines allowed unskilled workers to perform tasks that once had employed trained artisans
Unskilled artisans shifted from farm work to boring factory work .
Farm worker to factory worker
Under strict control of female supervisors, a work force – consisting almost entirely of unmarried farm girls- clustered in Lowell and the other mill towns that soon dotted new England
At their boarding houses, the “mill girls” lived under strict curfews. The girl’s behavior and church attendance was closely monitored, but despite this