Data Literacy for Social Studies, Number of Spindles and Looms in U.S. Factories, 1831 vs. 1860

We created this clustered stacked bar graph using a data table from the 1882 U.S. Census report, The Factory System of the United States, to show the growth in the number of spindles and looms across different regions of the country from 1830 to 1860.  The graph highlights the growth in the number of spindles and looms aross the country as cotton manufacturing increased, as well as the vast difference between the number of spindles and looms in the New England States as compared to the other regions. There was an abundance of textile mills located in the New England States during this time, with the Middle States having the second highest amount. The report states, “The water privileges of New England and the middle states offered to enterprising men the inducement to build factories for the spinning of yarn for the household manufacture of cloth” (Wright, p. 7). The Southern states saw a large increase in their number of spindles and looms from 1831 to 1860, but still had significantly less than the other states. The Southern states' economies relied heavily on agriculture, supplying the textile mills with cotton. Because the Western States had a very small number of spindles and looms, and would not have been visible on the graph, their data were omitted.