While early twentieth-century historians generally attributed the rapid expansion of the textile industry in New England primarily to technological innovations in water-powered looms, recent archival research reveals that capital accumulation strategies played an equally decisive role. Specifically, regional merchant-capitalists redirected profits from maritime trade into industrial infrastructure during the embargo of 1807. Unlike European manufacturers, who relied heavily on skilled artisan guilds, New England factory owners implemented standardized operational protocols that allowed them to employ unskilled labor. Consequently, despite facing higher raw material costs than their foreign competitors, American mills achieved lower per-unit production costs by significantly reducing labor expenses and maximizing machinery throughput.
According to the passage, New England factory owners were able to employ unskilled labor because they did which of the following?
- Implemented standardized operational protocols.Cevap
- BBenefited from lower raw material costs than foreign competitors.
- CRecruited former maritime trade workers affected by the 1807 embargo.
- DAdopted production methods developed by European artisan guilds.
- EFormed financial partnerships with European textile manufacturers.