Industrial Expansion

8.5.5—Compare industrial development in South

Carolina to industrialization in the rest of the United

States, including the expansion of railroads, the

development of the phosphate and textile

industries, and immigration.

Post Civil War Period…• Spurred by wartime government spending & support

of building the transcontinental railroad (Why would they support this?)

• Discoveries of iron ore & coal in the wet• Need for steel to make the railroads, entrepreneurs,

& new technology led to growth in the steel & oil industries

• Meat & grain packing plants for ranches & farms• Immigrants looking for American fortunes provided

the labor expanded factories

Building the transcontinental railroad (24:21)

Growth in SC

• Wasn’t affected by the same growth as the rest of the nation (industry or immigrants)

• Planter elite looked down on the development of industry, thought it wasn’t “noble”

• Conservatives were more interested in reviving the old South, than foster in a new south (Why could this be an issue for the future of SC?)

• Major cities grew along the railroad tracks • Columbia was a major hub to over 100 daily trains• Transcontinental trains established time zones & standard

time

Textile Industry• Became very important to SC• Changing attitudes towards

industrial growth in the Upcountry• Local investors provided the capital to build the textile

mills near cotton fields & along rivers for a power supply

• Poor farmers were attracted to mill villages that provided: homes, schools, churches, & stores, along with jobs

• African Americans were not considered for traditional mill labor

• 1895 technology innovations for textile mills• 1910, SC was the 2nd largest textile producing state

This undated and untitled post card has "Pacolet Mill No. 2" written in pencil on the reverse side. This appears to be an early grist mill and not a textile mill. Perhaps this photo was taken during the flood of 1903?-Spartanburg, SC

Springs Cotton mill, Lancaster, SC

Wylie Mill, Chester, South Carolina, November 1908

Cheraw Cotton Mills, Inc. Cheraw, S. C.

Below: Mills No. 1, 2 and 3 of the Union-Buffalo Mills Co. at

Union, South Carolina

Life for Mill Workers• Mill life was not ideal• Conditions depended on the generosity of the

mill owner & economic condition of the time• In depressions- workers laid off & lost their

homes• Men, women, & children worked long hours for

low pay in the mills • SC mill workers made less than half of what

other workers made across the US• SC women & children earned even less than men• “lint heads”

Life for Mill Workers

• Governor Tillman reduced work hours per week to 66 hours, from the 6am to 6pm work day

• Suffered diseases b/c of the work environment• Workplace accidents• Union organizers were quickly fired/ crushed

by mill owners• US government backed the interests of the

mill owners rather than the workers

Luring in Northern Mills• Production of cottonseed oil, lumber, and

phosphates for fertilizers increased after Reconstruction due to the south luring northern mills south

• South offered cheaper wage & non-union laborers (why would this matter to mill owners?)

• Charleston & Beaufort offered phosphate rock, bringing a degree wealth to the coastal areas

• After the 1893 hurricane, Beaufort’s phosphate mining never recovered & SC companies moved to Florida where new deposits were found