On
September 30th, I visited the American Textile Museum. This museum
also had an exhibit on the Civil War, and how textiles played a role in
communication and expressing emotions. Quilts could be used to express
gratitude for soldiers, for instance. There was also information about the
materials that were used for clothes back in the mid 1800s, as well as
conditions for keeping your job as a mill worker. I also took some pictures as
well during my visit here that I can include here.
Materials
used for cloth back in the mid 1800s were from plants or animals. This included
wool from a sheep’s fleece, cotton from the hairy seeds of cotton plants, linen
from the stalks of flax plants, and silk from cocoons spun by worms. There were
also ups and downs for each. Wool helped with warmth, but was bait for moths. Cotton
had its versatility of uses but was too damp and unpleasant when wet. Linen was
good for presentation, but wrinkled easily. Silk was elegant, but was very
expensive. This information was obtained from a plaque: http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/DossarLX/textilemuseum/DSC05648_1024x768.jpg
There
was also a section on how cotton was acquired back in this period of time. The
labor involved in picking the cotton was ridiculous. This is a picture showing
what the cotton pickers had to wear and do: http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/DossarLX/textilemuseum/DSC05654_1024x768.jpg.
Basically, they had to drag a long bag that could weigh up to a hundred pounds,
they had to bend over with this weight against them to reach low plants that
were sharp and could cut your fingers. It required a lot of stamina and
perseverance, and the black slaves that picked cotton weren’t even getting
wages due to being slaves.
Conditions
for mill workers were appalling; I found this section of the museum intriguing.
Mill workers worked six days a week for as long as 14 hours a day starting as
early as 5 am and end as late as 7 pm. This means a week’s work could average
more than 70 hours! Today, people commonly work around 40 hours a week, which
is substantially less. The mill workers also had to be punctual because the
gates closed at the time they had to be at work, so even being one or two minutes
late would lock them out and they’d miss work/not get paid. Mill Workers had to
be in their boarding houses by 10 pm. Mill workers had to live in rooms with
five to seven other people with only three beds. If the mill workers didn’t
attend church every Sunday morning, they would be removed from work. There were
also rules establish by the companies which were very stringent on the workers
and forced them to be obedient. Any employee who broke the rules or was disobedient
could be “dishonorably” discharged, meaning that you’d be blacklisted so no
other mill would hire you. There were also signs put around that encouraged
people to report anyone taking materials out of the factories, such as this
sign that proposed a $25.00 reward to any person caught stealing: http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/DossarLX/textilemuseum/DSC05680_1024x768.jpg.
Last but not
least, we have the Civil War section of the museum. This was a Union flag
presented to Abraham Lincoln a few days before his assassination in April 1865:
http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/DossarLX/textilemuseum/DSC05703_1024x768.jpg.
Because the Civil War increased the demand for textiles and food, people tried
to hide their food so it didn’t get seized by the authorities. Also, a
surprisingly high number of people who entered the army were unable to write,
so for these people instead of putting their signature they would put an “X”.
Because of the desperate need for uniforms, even rushed uniforms were accepted
in the army. The price for the common people increased quickly and wages were
lowered, and the textile industry shifted heavily towards the war effort.
Textiles were also made to express gratitude to soldiers and used as a way of
communicating emotions; there were several quilts in the Civil War exhibit
which showed quilts that expressed sentiments towards the soldiers and the
Civil War. Some mill owners thought that the Civil War would not take years to
end, and tried selling off their cotton to make quick profits while they could;
they expected the Civil War to only last a few months.
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