Studies of American industry frequently cite Lowell, Massachusetts, as an early model for business practices. Scholars have sought to explain the city's rise to prominence, the impact of its textile mills on workers and on commerce, and its part in regional development and American prosperity. Laurence Gross looks beyond these issues. Focusing on Lowell's Boott Cotton Mills, he examines the industry's struggle to maintain its prominence, the causes of its decline, and its ultimate flight south.Gross puts much of the blame for the pattern of events on the mill-owners themselves. They resisted reinvestment, so their operations became less efficient. They kept antiquated machinery running long after it was safe to do so, and they were slow to respond to issues of worker safety. The increased textile demands of World War II, Gross explains, only forestalled the mills' inevitable demise.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN-13
9780801863639
eBay Product ID (ePID)
94726453
Product Key Features
Subject Area
Mechanical Engineering
Author
Laurence F. Gross
Publication Name
The Course of Industrial Decline: the Boott Cotton Mills of Lowell, Massachusetts, 1835-1955
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Subject
Engineering & Technology, History
Publication Year
2000
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
320 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
229mm
Item Width
152mm
Item Weight
465g
Additional Product Features
Title_Author
Laurence F. Gross
Series Title
Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology