Labor in America: Growth of the Factory

GROWTH OF THE FACTORY In colonial America, most of the manufacturing was done by hand in a home. Labor took place in workshops attached to the side of a home. As towns grew into cities, the demand for manufactured goods increased. Some workshop owners began hiring helpers to increase production. Relations between the employer and helper were generally harmonious. They worked side by side, had the same interests and held similar political views. The factory …

…Further Reading Brody, David. Workers in Industrial America: Essays on the Twentieth Century Struggle. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980. Fink, Gary M., ed. Biographical Dictionary of American Labor. 2nd ed. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1984. Fink, Gary M., ed. Labor Unions. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1977. Kessler-Harris, Alice. Out to Work: A History of America's Wage-Earning Women. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982. Morris, Richard B., ed. A History of the American Worker. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983.