Mill Times By David Macaulay Analysis

Summary The PBS special, “Mill Times”, hosted by David Macaulay, gives a viewer insight into what aided in igniting the Industrial Revolution and changing how textiles are produced. Through documentary snippets and an animated storyline the viewer is able to imagine life before technological changes. Viewers are shown how clothing was produced prior to the mill, the benefits of the mill, the Lowe girls and their working environment, and further technological advancements which aided in making production more mobile and independent of waterways. The beginning of the program shows how laborious and strenuous it was to manufacture any cloth before the waterwheel invention. Mr. Macaulay shows the viewer how a sheep’s wool would have been

A multitude of mills going up created back water which hindered the mill’s wheels from turning more freely, but with more competitors came more jobs to the area. In addition to more work came the need for more workers. Francis Lowell of Massachusetts decided to make a wholesome atmosphere to attract young country women to his mill to work. He offered wholesome living with room and board, decent pay, strict rules, and curfews to enforce the safety of the girls that worked for him. These workers came to be known as the “Lowell girls”. They worked seventy-plus hours a week, six days a week with Sunday off. Most stayed for several years and then went back home to continue with their lives while others embarked on other

I found the work that was required to create one piece of clothing time consuming but eye opening. Today’s consumers take the ease of clothing purchase for granted when compared to the eighteenth century. The documentary helps a person to visualize how strenuous a job it was to prepare and spin the wool and work the loom all by hand. The animation that was interwoven with the documentary was a nice touch and helped cement how things happened and worked at the beginning of the industrial revolution. The courage to envision such a dramatic improvement to laborers during the time by using something as natural as water was ingenious. Samuel Slater and Francis Lowell were just two of these visionary business men who helped transform textile production through water-powered machines. Although Francis Lowell had a good idea to provide wholesome living environments for women, they were not ideal. They worked six days, twelve to thirteen hours a day, at seventy or more hours a week, for half the price of what men were paid during that time. Working conditions were dangerous and held great health risks to the women, leaving some with deafness and some with lung problems. Even though they lived in boarding homes the conditions did not seem to be ideal, but according to the documentary it was better than living on the farm in even