Samuel Slater facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Samuel Slater
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Samuel Slater
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| Born | June 9, 1768 Belper, Derbyshire, England
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| Died | April 21, 1835 (aged 66) Webster, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Occupation | Industrialist, Author |
| Known for | Bringing the Industrial Revolution to the U.S. from Great Britain |
| Spouse(s) |
Hannah Wilkinson Slater
(m. 1791; Esther Parkinson
(m. 1817) |
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Samuel Slater was an important English-American businessman born on June 9, 1768. He is often called the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution" because he brought new ways of making things to the United States. People in England sometimes called him "Slater the Traitor" because he shared British factory secrets with America. When he was 21, he moved to the U.S. after memorizing the designs for textile machines. These machines helped spin cotton into thread.
Slater built the very first successful textile mill in the U.S. He later started his own company with his sons. Eventually, he owned many mills and even helped create towns around them, like Slatersville in Rhode Island. He passed away on April 21, 1835.
Contents
Early Life and Learning About Mills
Samuel Slater grew up in Belper, England, born on June 9, 1768. He was one of eight children in a farming family. When he was ten, he started working at a cotton mill. This mill used special machines called "water frames" invented by Richard Arkwright. These machines used water power to spin cotton.
After his father passed away in 1782, Samuel became an apprentice to Jedediah Strutt, who owned the mill. Samuel learned everything about spinning cotton and how to run a factory. By the time he was 21, he knew all the secrets of these machines.
Samuel heard that America wanted to build similar factories. However, British law made it illegal to share these machine designs with other countries. So, Samuel memorized all the designs he could. In 1789, he secretly left for New York City. Some people in his hometown were upset and called him "Slater the Traitor" because they felt he was giving away their town's valuable secrets.
Building America's First Factories
In 1789, a businessman named Moses Brown in Rhode Island wanted to build a mill. He had some machines, but they didn't work well. Samuel Slater heard about this and wrote to Brown, offering his help. Samuel was confident he could build machines that worked just as well as those in England. He even promised to work for free if he failed!
In 1790, Samuel and Brown made a deal. Samuel would build the water-powered spinning machines from his memory. He would also get a share of the profits. It was hard to find skilled workers in America to build these complex machines. But Samuel found Oziel Wilkinson and his son, David, who helped make the metal parts. David Wilkinson later said they had to make many parts by hand.
By 1791, Samuel had some machines running. He had built the entire water-powered spinning system by himself, just from memory! By December, the shop was operational with about ten to twelve workers. In 1793, Slater and Brown opened their first factory in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
Samuel knew all the important details of how to make these machines work together. He even made small changes to fit American needs. This factory became the first successful water-powered roller spinning textile mill in the United States.
Samuel also used the management ideas he learned in England. He trained workers to be skilled in using the machines. Back then, it was common for children to work in factories, and this was also the case in Slater's mills.
Later, in 1812, Samuel built another important mill in East Village in Webster, Massachusetts. He chose this location because there were many people looking for work and plenty of water power from Webster Lake.
The Rhode Island System and Factory Life
Samuel Slater developed a unique way of running his factories, known as the Rhode Island System. Instead of just hiring individuals, he encouraged entire families to come and work at his mills. He built houses for these families near the factories and even opened company stores where they could buy supplies.
To help the children of his workers, Samuel started Sunday Schools. College students taught the children how to read and write there. Children, often between seven and twelve years old, were among the first workers in the mills. Samuel personally oversaw their work.
In 1793, Samuel constructed a new mill for making textiles. Around this time, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1794. This machine made it much easier to process cotton. This led to a huge increase in cotton farming in the Southern United States. The cotton for the New England mills was often grown by people who were forced to work.
Samuel later left his first partnership and started "Samuel Slater & Company" with his father-in-law, Oziel Wilkinson, in 1798. They developed other mills in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
His brother, John Slater, joined him from England in 1799. John had also studied new machine designs. Samuel put John in charge of a large mill called the White Mill.
By 1810, Samuel held part ownership in three factories. In 1823, he bought a mill in Connecticut. He also built factories that made the textile manufacturing machinery used by many of the region's mills.
As his business grew, Samuel found it hard to manage everything himself. After 1829, he brought his sons into the business, forming "Samuel Slater and Sons." His son, Horatio Nelson Slater, helped modernize the company and make it more efficient.
Samuel also hired recruiters to find families who wanted to work in his mills. He advertised to attract more families to the mills.
By 1800, the Slater mill's success had been copied by other business owners. By 1810, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin reported that the U.S. had about 50 cotton-yarn mills. Many of these started because the Embargo of 1807 cut off trade with Britain before the War of 1812. That war helped speed up the growth of factories in New England. By 1815, there were 140 cotton factories near Providence, employing 26,000 people. This was the start of the American textile industry.
Slater & Company became one of the leading manufacturing companies in the United States. In 1824, some women workers near Pawtucket felt their wages were too low. They went on strike, which was one of the first factory strikes in U.S. history. This event showed how workers began to stand up for their rights. Samuel Slater, like many factory owners, did not support workers forming unions. He continued to update his factories and later moved some operations to the South.
Family Life
In 1791, Samuel Slater married Hannah Wilkinson. Hannah was also very clever; in 1793, she invented a special two-ply thread. She became the first American woman to receive a patent for her invention! Samuel and Hannah had ten children together, though sadly, four of them passed away when they were very young. Hannah died in 1812, leaving Samuel to raise their six children.
Samuel married again in 1817 to Esther Parkinson. By this time, Samuel's businesses were very successful. Samuel and his brother helped establish the Slater family in America.
Later Years and Passing
Samuel Slater passed away on April 21, 1835, in Webster, Massachusetts. He had founded this town in 1832 and named it after his friend, Senator Daniel Webster. He is buried in Mount Zion Cemetery. When he died, he owned 13 mills. He was a very wealthy man, with a fortune that would be worth over a billion dollars today.
Samuel Slater's Lasting Impact
Samuel Slater's first mill, called Slater Mill, is still standing today. It is now a museum where visitors can learn about his life and how he helped American industry grow. The Slater Mill and the town of Slatersville are both parts of the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park. This park helps protect and share the story of how factories and industries developed in this area.
There is also a new history museum, the Samuel Slater Experience, in Webster, Massachusetts. It opened in March 2022 and is dedicated to telling Samuel Slater's story. His important papers are kept at the Harvard Business School's Baker Library in Boston.
See also
In Spanish: Samuel Slater para niños
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