The Mind of the Mill Owner: Welfare Capitalism and Child Labor in Southern Cotton Textiles

Abstract

From the 1880s through the 1920s, the mill villages of the southern textile industry manifested a unique blend of paternalism and welfare capitalism. They also employed thousands of young children in the mills. This paper explores the intersection of three key institutions— the mill village, the family wage system, and the child labor system—in order to gain a better understanding of the mind of the mill owner on the question of child labor.