The Lowell Boott Mills Complex and Its Housing: Material Expressions of Corporate Ideology

Lowell, Massachusetts, the first planned industrial city in New England, was a total departure from earlier forms of urban life in North America. This essay examines the ways in which the ideology of industrial capitalism and the policy of corporate paternalism are reflected in the built environment...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Historical archaeology 1989-01, Vol.23 (1), p.19-32
Main Author: Beaudry, Mary C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Built environments
Business structures
Canals
Corporations
Cotton
Factories
Historical archaeology
Housing
National parks
The Archaeological Use of Landscape Treatment in Social, Economic, and Ideological Analyses: Symposium, 1987 Meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology Savannah, Georgia
Workforce
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Summary:Lowell, Massachusetts, the first planned industrial city in New England, was a total departure from earlier forms of urban life in North America. This essay examines the ways in which the ideology of industrial capitalism and the policy of corporate paternalism are reflected in the built environment of 19th century Lowell. Using the Boott Cotton Mills Corporation as a case study, the ways in which corporate policies regulated and permeated the material lives of workers on the job and at home are considered. The analysis draws upon an interdisciplinary body of data but emphasizes the ways in which archaeological investigations can illuminate the contrast between the stated company policy of concern for workers' welfare and the reality of workers' living conditions.
ISSN:0440-9213
2328-1103
DOI:10.1007/BF03374094