Boott Cotton Mills

“What could you do with a bale of cotton?”

Considering the lives of those who worked at the Boott Cotton Mill, the local communities tied to the mills, and the way American society and the larger economy benefited from their toil, there are two different arguments that can be made in the favor of either the Jeffersonian or the Hamiltonian position. Moreover, the Jeffersonian argument is for a more agrarian-based economy while the Hamiltonian side argues for an economy country that wields much of its power from the industrial enterprise.

The life of a mill worker was absolutely horrendous compared to jobs today. A mill worker had to be up bright and early for work which would last all day, no matter the weather conditions. The women and children of Lowell that worked within the walls of the Boott Cotton Mill not only had terrible conditions while on duty but their lives were just as bad during their off hours. The mill workers would go in to work in the morning and use the sunlight as their clock in order to work as many hours as they could because the sun was the only light in the mill. Also, though they worked to get paid, the wages were very, very small and about half of their pay per week was taken out for the housing provided to them by the mill and for food which was basically paying for the mill workers’ meal plans. To make matters worse, the mill buildings were full of heavy, loud, and obnoxious machinery while steam was continuously pumped into the rooms to help produce better quality cotton fabric. This in turn caused for a much more humid, smelly, and dangerous work place.

             

Boott Cotton Mills: Main building with over one-hundred loom machines.

            The Jeffersonian argument is for a more agrarian-based economy which means that supporters of Jefferson would want to have the entire industry of the country be dependent on agriculture. If the entire country was to be reliant on agriculture instead of industrial means to make a profit then people who live in places like the northeast would be out of jobs. In a location where the weather has too much of a poor effect on the wildlife, people would not be able to participate in the agricultural economy. Sun and a sufficient amount of water are needed for proper plant growth and the northern part of the country cannot produce certain products because of the fall and winter months.

            On the other hand, the Hamiltonian argument is for an economy country that yields much of its power from the industrial enterprise. This way of life would allow for many new jobs, faster income, and a lot more profit. Since machines can work twice as fast as people and never stop to take a break, it seems logical to have an industrial economy. Although people have a higher chance of getting hurt or shortening their life span, this type of economy will give men, woman, and children jobs all over the country. However, the agricultural economy mainly exists in the south and not in the north so not as many families will be able to work.

            I believe in compromising and using both types of industry. Although each argument has pros and cons, if just the pros of each were to be looked at and the country worked together then the good aspects would far out way the bad and the entire United States of America would prosper. Some cons (shown below) are of course serious problems but the positive benefits of jobs and money certainly come out on top. Therefore, the north should expand into the industrial enterprise while the south expands in the agrarian based economy. This will allow for the most profit and least amount of unemployment in the country.   

              

Above is a picture of a dam connecting one of the canals  Above is the water runoff that

to the Merrimack River. However, since the mills have     dumps back into the Merrimack          

been shut down and the canal is no longer in use, the dam River.

looks a bit run down.

Both of these pictures represent two of the cons in the compromise.

P.S.

            My Favorite part of the Boott Cotton Mill tour was when we had a model that represented the Merrimack River and, just as the mills were created in the past along the canals in Lowell, we too had to create our own mills and canals between the thirty-two foot elevation difference between the river in the north and in the south. Using the mills and canals, with bolts and dams, we were able to set up a way to harness all of the water energy that the Merrimack River is able to give off. Below is a picture of the set up created by myself and three other students. The blue and white tunneling represents the river while the black valves are canals and the red and clear structures are mills.