Notes+-+Robert+Owen

- Born on 14th May, 1771, Newtown in Wales. - Son of saddler and ironmonger - Intelligent boy went to local school until 10 - At the age of 10, sent to work in a large drapers in Stamford, Lincolnshire. - Spent 3yrs there in Stamford -> moved to drapers in London - Did it until he was 16, (1787) - When he turned 16, went to a wholesale drapery business in Manchester. - partnered up with John Jones, an engineer, and set up business to manufacture clothes (inspired by Richard Arkwright) - 1792, partnership ended with John and began working as a manager of Peter - Drinkwater’s, the large spinning factory in Manchester. - working as a manager, met many business man that involved in the textile industry. - met David Dale and became close friends - Robert married dale’s daughter, Caroline. - with some financial help from several businessmen from Manchester, he buys Dale’s fourth textile factories, Chorton Twist, in New Lanark, Scotland - Chorton Twist was the largest cotton – spinning business in Britain - he rapidly expands the factory - not interested in making money but to make a new type of community at New Lanark. - he believed, “ person’s character is formed by the effects of their environment” - he thought that if he provided the right environment, he could produced rational, good and humane people. · “people are naturally good but later corrupts because of the harsh ways they have gone throught and the way they have been treated.” o Ex) Owen was strong opponent of physical punishment in schools and factories and immediately banned violence in New Lanark

- David already have built a many houses around his factories in New Lanark - When Owen came, already 2000 people were living in the New Lanark village - First order after he took Dale’s place was to build a school · Thought education was essential in developing the type of person he wanted - He saw children 5~10 yrs old working 13 hrs, a day in the textile mills. · Stopped employing children under ten and reduced working hours to 10 · Young children went to nursery and infant schools that he had built. · Older children who worked in the factory also had to attend to the secondary school for part of the day. - Other people thought the change would decrease the profits - Owen tried to convince them that it was good for the long run. · Borrowed money from local banker, Archibald Campbell, to buy their share of the business.-> later sold the factory to a man who agreed with his way of running the factory.

- Wanted other factories to follow his way such as the way he treats the children - to share his ideas, published __The Formation of Character__ in 1813 and __A New View of Society__ in 1814. - 1815, he sent his proposals to the Parliament about the changes. - Was a success - Toured the country, made speeches about his experiments at New Lanark - made pamphlets and made copies to send it to the influential people in Britain for free - He had spend great deal of his own money £4,000, in one month because of all his publicizing activities - he said “new moral world, a world from which the bitterness of divisive sectarian religion would be banished". · This statement made many people of the Church of England upset

 "Robert Owen's "A New View of Society" (1813)." __The History Guide -- Main__. 8 Dec. 2008 . "Robert Owen." __Robert Owen__. 8 Dec. 2008 . "Robert Owen." __Spartacus Educational - Home Page__. 8 Dec. 2008 . "The Avalon Project : A New View of Society." __Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy__. 8 Dec. 2008 .