ABSTRACT
The transformation of cotton cloth manufacturing from a rural, hand craft tradition to a predominantly mechanized, factory based system between 1770 and 1860 provided entrepreneurs with opportunities for new deployments of labour. However, manufacturers had to proceed with caution. They had to consider the local economic structure and employment traditions in order to entice workers into the new factories. Consequently, the transition to the predominantly factory production of cloth was uneven for workers, manufacturers and communities. Yet it quickly became clear to all concerned, that the factories were there to stay. By 1860, cotton mills were securely established as essential and key contributors to both the local and national economies of America and Britain. Moreover, it was clear that women were firmly and permanently integrated into these factory workforces.
