ABSTRACT
During the brief twenty-year period following the American involvement in the Napoleonic wars, Americans created an industry in the mechanized factory production of woolen goods. There were a few factories that manufactured only satinet or only flannel; some of those tended to be more profitable than broadcloth/cassimere factories. The factory building housed carding machinery, billies and jennies for spinning, shearing machines, and benches for burling. The factory buildings were immediately accessible to a stream for water power. Nearby or in the village proper were a church and school. Wages were determined for the most part by the supply and demand of a particular skill. Wool manufacturers succeeded in trimming wage costs during the decade of the twenties. The period from 1809 to 1820 saw the woolen industry break with certain traditions. Technology represented the most obvious break with English manufacturing processes. Americans accused the English of "dumping", that is, exporting and jobbing goods at prices less than actual manufacturing costs.
