Samuel Slater Essay

Zoie Ring2nd Period11/17/17 Samuel Slater was born in Derbyshire, England on June 9, 1768. When Slater was fourteen, he joined the textile industry employed to a man named Jedediah Strutt at Strutt’s Mill. Jedediah Strutt was the partner of Richard Arkwright and owned of one of the first cotton mills in Belper. Over the years, Slater was moved up to be the superintendent of Strutt’s Mill. (american-historama.org) With all his years spent at the Mill, he learned everything he could about the new inventions and machines and decided to move to the new world, where he would help build America’s first successful Cotton Mill. When Slater first arrived in New York, he contacted Moses Brown and William Almy, who owned a fulling mill in Pawtucket,

Rhode Island. Slater offered his services as a textile expert. Brown and Almy accepted his offer and invited him to run the spindles that they had bought. He arrived in Rhode Island in January, 1790. Upon arriving, Slater gave Brown and Almy some advice about their Mill. Eventually, Slater began building textile machines. (pbs.org) By December 20, 1790, Samuel had built two 72-spindled spinning frames. Each frame was made with carding, drawing, and roving machines. The Mill was powered by a water-wheel from an existing mill.
However; the cotton mill did not do too well at first.

There were many complications. Some being: securing good quality cotton, and the machines broke down often. But the biggest problem was the shop not being able to produce cotton yarn to meet the demand need. With all the problems they had, the company decided to expand. They built a small dam to power the mill, they also built another large mill. In 1798, Slater organized a new company called Samuel Slater and Company. The mill was completed in 1801. This new mill was the first to use the Arkwright system. Slaters brother, John Slater, also came to the New world after immigrating from England. He brought the latest news and new inventions from the english including the spinning mule. Samuel’s company then developed other mills in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. All this success and fame he earned gave him the nickname "Father of American Industry". The success and designs used in the Slater Mill were used by other textile manufacturers. (americaslibrary.gov) On April 21, 1835 Slater died in Webster, Massachusetts. He was a millionaire when he died, owning 13 mills. Slater mills still stands today as a museum. With all the information given above, it’s pretty clear why he was given the name “Father of American Industry” and “Founder of the American Industrial

Revolution".