ABSTRACT
Adrienne D. Hood The role of textiles as one of the driving forces of British industrialization has been well studied. Scholars have examined the cotton, woolen and linen branches of the industry, regional variation, details of new technology, and the impact of mechanization on handloom weavers.1 What has not been so well analyzed is the American experience. Here the research emphasis has been on the transition to industrialization during the post colonial years using New England as a model for the period leading up to this change.2 The general acceptance of this model has inhibited new investigations into early American textile production with the result that crucial pieces of the industrialization puzzle are missing.
