American Textile Colossus

American Textile Colossus

Author: Jay J. Lambert

Publisher:

Published: 2020-11-06

Total Pages: 700

ISBN-13: 9780964124820

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American Textile Colossus: The Story of Fall River, Massachusetts, its Cotton Manufacturing Industry, and its People is by Jay J. Lambert, president of the Board of Directors of the Fall River Historical Society. Jay devoted over a decade painstakingly researching and writing this major contribution to the history of the American textile industry. This book can be regarded as a definitive work on the subject. American Textile Colossus is a sweeping saga of Fall River's old cotton textile industry - the mills, the managerial hierarchy, the workforce, and the events and issues that shaped their lives. Documenting the cotton textile industry from the local perspective of Fall River, it is an unpretentious effort to understand the city's role in the industrialization of America.


Widows and Orphans First

Widows and Orphans First

Author: S. J. Kleinberg

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 2010-10-01

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 0252091639

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The experiences of widows and their children during the Progressive Era and the New Deal depended on differences in local economies and values. How did these widely varied experiences impact the origins of the welfare state? S. J. Kleinberg delves into the question by comparing widows' lives in three industrial cities with differing economic, ethnic, and racial bases. Government in Fall River, Massachusetts, saw employment as a solution to widows' poverty and as a result drastically limited public charity. In Pittsburgh, widows received sympathetic treatment. Few jobs existed for them or their children; indeed, the jobs for men were concentrated in "widowmaking" industries like steel and railroading. With a large African American population and a diverse economy that relied on inexpensive child and female labor, Baltimore limited funds for public services. African Americans adapted by establishing their own charitable institutions. A fascinating comparative study, Widows and Orphans First offers a one-of-a-kind look at social welfare policy for widows and the role of children in society during a pivotal time in American history.