Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater (June 9, 1768 – April 21, 1835) was an early English-American
industrialist known as the "Father of the
American Industrial Revolution", a phrase coined by
Andrew Jackson, and the "Father of the American Factory System". In the
United Kingdom, he was called "Slater the Traitor" and "Sam the Slate" because he brought British
textile technology to the United States, modifying it for American use. He memorized the textile factory machinery designs as an apprentice to a pioneer in the British industry before migrating to the U.S. at the age of 21.
Slater designed the first
textile mills in the U.S. and later went into business for himself, developing a family business with his sons. He eventually owned 13 spinning mills and had developed
tenant farms and company towns around his textile mills, such as
Slatersville,
Rhode Island.
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