Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater (June 9, 1768 – April 21, 1835) was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution" (a phrase coined by Andrew Jackson) and the "Father of the American Factory System."
Biography
In the United Kingdon, he was called "Slater the Traitor" because he brought British textile technology to America, modifying it for United States use.
He learned textile machinery as an apprentice to a pioneer in the British industry, then immigrating to the United States at the age of 21.
He designed the first textile mills in the US and later went into business for himself, developing a family business with his sons.
A wealthy man, he eventually owned thirteen spinning mills and had developed tenant farms and company towns around his textile mills, such as Slatersville, Rhode Island.
Management style
Slater created the "Rhode Island System" (see Waltham-Lowell system) , with factory practices based upon the patterns of family life in New England villages.
Children aged 7 to 12 were the first employees of the mill; Slater personally supervised them closely.
See
External links
- Samuel Slater @ Wikipedia
