Samuel slater brought the first water power cotton spinning mill to pentucket, rhode island in 17 90. The gin dramatically multiplied the amount of raw cotton that slave labor camps could prod. Cotton mills sprouted across new england including dozens in achuses alone. And so our northern helped perpetuate slavery and make it last until the civil war was over.
In the decades after America’s founding and the establishment of the Constitution, did the nation get better, more just, more democratic? Or did it double down on violent conquest and exploitation?
Reported, produced, written, and mixed by John Biewen, with series collaborator Chenjerai Kumanyika. The series editor is Loretta Williams. Interviews with Robin Alario, Edward Baptist, Kidada Williams, and Keri Leigh Merritt.
Music by Algiers, John Erik Kaada, Eric Neveux, and Lucas Biewen. Music consulting and production help from Joe Augustine of Narrative Music.