Textiles : Birth of an American Industry

The reminders are scattered throughout the Northeast. Aging mill towns filled with dormant buildings speak of an industry whose day has passed. But there was a time when textile was king. Cities like Fall River, Massachusetts led the world in producing cloth, and fortunes were spun from cotton. TEXTILES chronicles the 200-year history of America's first industry. See how the abundant waterpower in the Northeast led to an explosion of mills, giving the infant nation the material goods it needed to win economic independence. Trace the rise of Lowell, Massachusetts America's first industrial city for years the center of American textiles, and visit some of the massive mills that drove the town to prosperity. Experts examine the migration of textile production to the South after the Civil War, and rare photos, footage and news accounts chronicle the labor unrest that finally came to a head with the General Strike of 1934. Finally, see how overseas competition and technological developments have forced the industry to prepare for an uncertain future.

• documentary