Francis Cabot Lowell
...questions about their operation. He then exchanged letters with his brother in law Patrick Tracy Jackson who had remained in America to look after Francis’s dealings. In 1811 Francis began sending Patrick details on how to make cloth, and then before returning home in 1812 Francis memorized how the machines in Manchester worked. He brought back plans in his head to America and began building his own factory in 1812. (The Lowells, Book III The Turbid Time) Francis and Patrick bought two miles of land in Waltham by the Charles River. The land was especially attractive because of its proximity to the Charles River, since the river could provide waterpower for their factory. They called themselves ‘The Boston Manufacturing Company’ and personally invested one hundred thousand dollars. (Waltham Rediscovered) Francis and Patrick used the old mill already on their land as a frame to build their own factory. Then Francis not only succeeded in building the machines he had seen in England, he rebuilt them. He found ways to make the machines more efficient than those in England, so his factory would surpass those in England. Francis’s factory was ready for production in 1814, and soon it was turning out thirty miles of fabric per day. (Waltham Rediscovered) When the war was over, Francis’s factory ran into the problem of reinstated imports from Britain, namely cloth. England was trying to send in fabric that cost less than that made in America. Then Francis followed a little in the steps of his older brother ‘the rebel’, by involving himself in politics for the first time. Francis proposed a tariff on imports. He went to Washington and worked to pass a bill regarding “infant industries”. (The Lowells, Book III The Turbid Time) The bill passed and saved the American cloth manufacturers. Nathan Appleton referred to Francis Lowell as the “soul” of the manufacturing industry. Appleton was quoted in saying: “The introduction of the cotton manufacture in this country, on a large scale, was a new idea. What would be its effect on the character of our population was a matter of deep interest. The operatives in the manufacturing cities of Europe were notoriously of the lowest character, for intelligence and morals.” (The Lowells, Book III The Turbid Time) Appleton saw Francis as a new model for those poorly kept factories. Francis publicly set out to create an environment in his factories, which would prove that the faults of European factories did not have anything to do with their business. He wanted to show that he could be just as productive as his predecessors if not more so, and also maintain a good work environment to foster a healthy community. (The Lowells, Book III The Turbid Time) Francis decided to employ young girls in his factories, who would otherwise be unemployed. (Waltham Rediscovered) He offered them the potential to earn a living to help their families. In addition Francis promised to educate them and provide them with religious services. All of these offers seemed wonderful to people at the time and made Francis Lowell the capitalist, look like a venerable philanthropist. The reality was that Francis was...