Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater | |
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Industrialist, author | |
| Known for | Bringing the Industrial Revolution to the U.S. from Great Britain |
| Spouses | Hannah Wilkinson Slater (m. 1791; died 1812)Esther Parkinson (m. 1817) |
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Samuel Slater (June 9, 1768 – April 21, 1835) was an early English-American
Slater designed the first
Early life and education
Slater was born in Belper, Derbyshire, England, to William and Elizabeth Slater, on June 9, 1768, the fifth son in a farming family of eight children. He received a basic education, perhaps at a school run by Thomas Jackson.[1] At age ten, he began work at the cotton mill opened that year by Jedediah Strutt using the water frame pioneered by Richard Arkwright at nearby Cromford Mill. In 1782, his father died, and his family indentured Samuel as an apprentice to Strutt.[2] Slater was well trained by Strutt and, by age 21, he had gained a thorough knowledge of the organization and practice of cotton spinning.
He learned of the American interest in developing similar machines, and he was also aware of British law against exporting the designs. He memorized as much as he could, and departed for New York City in 1789. Some people of Belper called him "Slater the Traitor", as they considered his move a betrayal of the town where many earned their living at Strutt's mills.[3]
Career
Mill development
In 1789,
In August 1789, they acquired a 32-spindle frame "after the Arkwright pattern" but could not operate it. At this point, Slater wrote to them, offering his services. Slater realized that nothing could be done with the machinery as it stood and convinced Brown of his knowledge. He promised: "If I do not make a good yarn, as they do in England, I will have nothing for my services but will throw the whole of what I have attempted over the bridge."[4] In 1790, he signed a contract with Brown to replicate the British designs. Their deal provided Slater the funds to build the water frames and associated machinery, with a half share in their capital value and the profits derived from them. By December, the shop was operational with ten to twelve workers.
In 1791, Slater had some machinery in operation, despite shortages of tools and skilled mechanics. In 1793, Slater and Brown
Slater knew the secret of Arkwright's success, including varying fiber lengths and Arkwright's carding, drawing, and roving machines. He also had the experience of working with all the elements as a continuous production system. During construction, Slater made some adjustments to the designs to fit local needs. The result was the first successful water-powered roller spinning textile mill in the U.S.
After developing this mill, Slater instituted management principles that he had learned from Strutt and Arkwright to teach workers to be skilled mechanics.
In 1812, Slater built the Old Green Mill, later known as Cranston Print Works, in East Village in Webster, Massachusetts. He moved to Webster due in part to an available workforce, but also due to abundant water power from Webster Lake.[5]
Rhode Island System
Slater created the Rhode Island System, which were factory practices based upon family life patterns in New England villages. Children aged seven to 12 were the first employees of the mill; Slater personally supervised them closely. The first child workers were hired in 1790.[6]
He brought in whole families, developing entire villages.[7] He provided company-owned housing nearby, along with company stores; he sponsored a Sunday School where college students taught the children reading and writing.[citation needed]
Slater constructed a new mill in 1793 for the sole purpose of textile manufacture under Almy, Brown & Slater, as he was now partners with Almy and Brown. It was a 72-spindle mill; the patenting of Eli Whitney's cotton gin in 1794 reduced the labor in processing cotton. It also enabled profitable cultivation of short-staple cotton, which could be grown in the interior uplands, resulting in a dramatic expansion of cotton cultivation throughout the Deep South in the antebellum years. The New England mills and their labor force of free men depended on southern cotton based on slave labor. Slater also brought the Sunday school system from his native England to his textile factory at Pawtucket.[citation needed]
In 1798, Samuel Slater split from Almy and Brown, forming Samuel Slater & Company in partnership with his father-in-law Oziel Wilkinson. They developed other mills in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.[8]
In 1799, he was joined by his brother John Slater from England. John was a wheelwright who had spent time studying the latest English developments and might well have gained experience of the spinning mule.[1] Samuel put John Slater in charge of a large mill called the White Mill.[9]
By 1810, Slater held part ownership in three factories in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In 1823, he bought a mill in Connecticut. He also built factories to make the textile
Slater & Company became one of the leading manufacturing companies in the United States. [citation needed] Due to the oppressive rules and working conditions and a proposed cut of 25% in the wages of women workers by Slater and the other Mill Owners near Pawtucket, in 1824, this area was the site of the first factory strike in US history. Thus beginning the long struggle for human rights between factory workers and owners, which is continuing today.[10]
Slater also hired recruiters to search for families willing to work at the mill. He advertised to attract more families to the mills.[citation needed]
Embargo of 1807 that cut off imports from Britain before the War of 1812. That war resulted in speeding up the process of industrialization in New England. By war's end in 1815, there were 140 cotton manufacturers within 30 miles of Providence , employing 26,000 hands and operating 130,000 spindles. The American textile industry was launched.
Personal lifeIn 1791, Slater married Hannah Wilkinson who invented two-ply thread in 1793, becoming the first American woman to be granted a patent.[11] Samuel and Hannah had ten children together, although four died during infancy. Hannah died in 1812 from complications of childbirth, leaving Samuel with six young children to raise.[12] Along with his brother, Samuel started the Slater family in America.
Slater married for a second time in 1817 to a widow, Esther Parkinson. As his business was extremely successful by this time, and as Parkinson also owned the property before their marriage, the couple had a pre-nuptial agreement prepared.[12]
Death Slater died on April 21, 1835, in Webster, Massachusetts, a town which he had founded in 1832 and named for his friend Senator Daniel Webster. He is buried in Mount Zion Cemetery. At the time of his death, he owned 13 mills and was worth US$1.3 million, the equivalent in 2022 of US$42 million. Legacy and honors
Slater's original mill still stands, known today as Slater Mill and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is operated as a museum dedicated to preserving Samuel Slater's history and his contribution to American industry. Slater's original mill in Pawtucket and the town of Slatersville are both parts of the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park, which was created to preserve and interpret the history of the industrial development of the region. His papers are held at the Harvard Business School's Baker Library in Boston.[13] Samuel Slater Experience, a history museum dedicated to his life and legacy located in Webster, Massachusetts, opened in March 2022.[14][15] References
Bibliography
External links
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