1. The Lowell System (Investigated from skill five lens)
The Lowell system is a best fit for skill five because it is an influencing aspect in the continuing industrial revolution. The Lowell textile mills provided a flashpoint for the concepts of mass production as well as hydropower; which led to the growth of the industrial revolution elsewhere. The actual location of the mill also influenced two precedents that would become no strangers to the revolution. Firstly, the need for a flowing river for the construction of a water wheel to power the mill. Secondly, the use of canals to take in the materials and export the finished product to a market as a practice of trading nationwide.
The industrial revolution begins at the end of the 18th century in Great Britain. Bringing a new era of economic growth to the world.
By the early nineteenth century, the industrial revoultion has hit the U.S. Many companies attempt to keep up with changing times but decline ensues due to slow process.
The Lowell textile mill is established in 1823 on the Merrimack river. The mill introduced the concept of mass production into the country.
Lowell System
Waltham System
Inability to utilize agriculture
Beverly Cotton Manufactory
Eli Whitney
Agriculture- New England has still been unable to produce a massive amount of crops like the South has.
Eli Whitney- Pioneered concepts and innovations for the industrial revolution in the United States.
Beverly Cotton Manufactory- First industrial mill in New England but could not sustain itself as it lacked newer innovations.
Waltham System- First use of water as a power source in a textile mill.
Each of these events and their effects were combined to make the Lowell System at the Lowell Textile Mill. Although the system was not the pioneer of the American Industrial Revolution, the mill did give birth to mass production. Unlike it’s predecessor mills, the Lowell mill was quick and efficient. In fact, the mills were so efficient, that they were able to survive another century before it finally ceased operations in the late 1950s. Not even the Great Depression was enough to crush the Merrimack Manufacturing Company.