Power Loom Invention in the Industrial Revolution Essay Example

The evolution of the power loom was a turning point for society, causing a boom in the textile industry. Making cloth out of cotton used to be a tedious process where you had to spin the yarn by hand and then integrate every fiber in a long, tiring process. Hand looming was a respected trade as it took time and patience. A lot of people who spun yarn, sold it to hand weavers, who then produced the textile. The invention of the power loom controlled the manufacturing process, making textiles one of the first products to be produced in factories.  The power loom brought new emotions into society, the threat of man vs. machine. However, it was not only the beginning of the industrialization of textiles, but a world of potential for the industry of fashion.

One of the first improvements that was made to the  hand loom was the part of the “flying shuttle” invented by John Kay. This addition made it so only one person had to operate the loom instead of two. This began a surge of anger, the beginning of the threat on people's livelihoods. Kay died with no reparations for his contributions, similar to other inventors that would come after him (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica).

Nearly 30 years later another invention came along called the “Spinning Jenny” created by James Hargreaves. Following closely, Richard Arkwright invented the “Spinning Frame” (Mahoney 14). The spinning frame made it so cotton could be woven into yarn more efficiently.  Arkwright later modified the spinning frame into the water frame; it was powered by a water wheel. Arkwright got the patent for the spinning frame and built a large cotton mill, reaping the rewards of his work. His mill became an example to be used for the industrial factory system. He passed with wealth left over. 

The “Spinning Mule” invented by Samuel Crompton which changed the way yarn was made forever. Another stepping stone to the industrialization of weaving. Also, another inventor who made nothing from his invention.

Edmund Cartwright invented the power loom in 1784, which was not the power loom used in factories. The design was revised and improved by not one but two other inventors before it became efficient enough to be used in factories. The final design was produced by Francis Cabot Lowell, who “studied” English mills and came back to America and produced the finalized version.  Even though Cartwright’s design did have issues, it was the blueprint for the success of textile factories. Cartwright’s invention of the power loom also gave him little financial compensation (Bellis). 

With Cartwright’s invention, a less efficient power loom, hand loomers started to get nervous. There was a threat to their livelihood. The factory that Cartwright created to mass produce his machinery was burnt down to the ground. Suspected arson by hand loomers afraid to be put out of work. This is the beginning of the threat of technology taking jobs. 

In the modern age people worry about computers taking jobs, mundane, tedious jobs. For example the automated self checkout systems in many grocery stores today steal cashier jobs from humans who need the income.The threat of the power loom to handweavers was similar. Being put out of work for the sake of capitalism and efficiency. Once well-respected work, descending into obsolescence. 

A group of weavers assembled a secret organization of rebels, with the purpose of destroying textile machinery that diminished the time and effort they put in to develop their hand weaving skills. Working their whole lives to have a desired skill, and networking relationships, all to be replaced by underpaid unskilled workers.

They were called the “Luddites”, which is a word defined today as someone who opposes new technology (Brain). Workers all over England started burning down mills and destroying machinery in hopes that there would be some compensation, maybe fair wages? This led to a lot of violence and even some shootings, the army was even deployed at one point. Obviously, their efforts were unsuccessful, and progress prevailed.

When the Industrial Revolution began, people started to migrate, and seek work in these new factories, leaving less and less time to weave their own clothes. With the power loom and the cotton gin running hand in hand, the textile industry was booming with supply and demand. With the expansion of the industry, came investment. England became the leading manufacturer for textiles (Mahoney 15).

However, this expansion may have been good for the economy, it had negative effects on the people and the countryside. One physician, J.P. Kay, stated, “Whilst the engine runs, the people must work--men, women, and children are [tied] together with iron and steam, humans are chained fast to the iron machine, which knows no suffering and no weariness.” (Mahoney 16). People of all ages and sex were being exposed to the greed of industrialization, the start of human lives becoming a disposable resource. Child labor was a large issue, sending children under machines to clean because they were small enough. Believe it or not, child labor is still an issue in the modern textile and fashion industry. 

In March 2014, there was said to be an estimated 168-200 million child laborers working in countries over the world. In order to keep costs down children are employed for the intricate and tedious tasks that no one has the patience for (Overeem and Theuws).The children are normally underpaid and overworked. Over 200 years later and we are still dealing with the same societal problems when it comes to production

Eli Whitney made a large impact on the textile industry, he invented the cotton gin. This changed the production of cotton forever, making an efficient way to separate the seed from the fluff of the cotton. This invention in toe with the power loom created the productivity of the textile industry.

The Industrial revolution begins in America. Samuel Slater is known as the man who founded the American cotton-textile industry (Samuel Slater-New World Encyclopedia). Some considered Slater to be a traitor, giving away the secrets of success to British manufacturing. He was an assistant to a close colleague of Richard Arkwright, he saw an opportunity after concluding his apprenticeship. Some say he believed that the knowledge should be shared. Either way, he wasn’t committing a crime, by coming to America and giving us the knowledge of modernizing textiles, the patent at that time was considered public domain (Samuel Slater-New World Encyclopedia). With the invention of the cotton gin and Slater bringing his knowledge over from Britain, the industrial revolution made its way to America.  Slater constructed the first successful cotton mill in America in 1790. Slater’s wife was one of the first women to have a patent of her own; she invented a fine cotton thread, which brought even more publicity to her husband's factories.

Lowell re-invented the power loom and had many mills in America. Young female farmers were the main employees at the mills. They were offered this opportunity in a shiny package, the lure of making their own income and being able to save or contribute to their family before being married off. Even promises of education were made. Instead they were met with long hours, grueling working conditions, and low wages. When they would return home from the factories, their position in society would be lowered, women were looked at as “less desirable” after they worked in a factory.The whole point of bringing women to work and then returning them to their homes to marry and have children was so there was no “permanent” working class. However, this isn’t what happened; many “Lowell girls” stayed in the mills their whole lives. Workers in mills all over America were facing terrible working conditions. This started talk of unions, in 1824 women working in a cotton mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island walked out, demanding better wages and conditions. This was the first protest by workers in a factory in America (Sven Beckert). The people will continue to fight for their rights for years to come.

With the factories booming, and people being able to buy clothes in the same place, trends in fashion were expanded nationally. One popular fashion for the working women at the time was the  “Shirtwaist”. A factory in New York produced these shirts in an industrial fashion in a newly built skyscraper, which was 10 floors high. One day a fire started on the 7th floor, which quickly spread to the top floor. The workers tried to subdue the fire but the hose was broken, they also tried to escape but there were no safety standards and 146 people perished in the fire (History.com Editors). This is a direct impact of the expansion of the textile industry. However, as a direct result of this fire new safety regulations were put in place for skyscrapers and public buildings in general.

Many benefits came out of the fashion industry as well, after the invention of artificial dye and the sewing machine, fashion became an industry of its own, almost separate from textiles. One of the first fashion designers in history Charles Frederick Worth went on to become one of the first professional dressmakers, and eventually was designing fashion for the French Empire (Krick).

The power loom was and the inventions associated with it had a large impact on society.