The Course of Industrial Decline by Laurence F Gross

The Course of Industrial Decline by Laurence F Gross

Studies of American industry frequently cite Lowell, Massachusetts as an early model for business practices. Scholars have sought to explain the city's rise to prominence, the impact of its textile mills on workers and on commerce, and its part in regional development and American prosperity. In this book, Laurence Gross sets out to look beyond these issues. Focusing on Lowell's Boott Cotton Mills, he examines the industry's struggle to maintain its prominence, the causes of its decline and its ultimate flight south. Gross puts much of the blame for the pattern of events on the mill-owners themselves. They resisted reinvestment, so their operations became less efficient. They kept antiquated machinery running long after it was safe to do so, and they were slow to increase to issues of worker safety. The increased textile demands of World War II, Gross suggests, only forestalled the mill's inevitable demise. This book aims to throw new light on the interaction of labour, business and technology. As one of many American companies that succumbed to obsolete equipment, poor management and changing markets, the Boott Cotton Mills experienced problems that have become all too familiar as America's industrial base continues to decline.

Laurence Gross is an associate professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780801844539
ISBN 10	0801844533
Title	The Course of Industrial Decline
Author	Laurence F Gross
Series	Johns Hopkins Studies In The History Of Technology
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Johns Hopkins University Press
Year published	1993-04-01
Number of pages	304
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.