The Craft Apprentice From Franklin to the Machine Age in America [Paperback]

The apprentice system in colonial America began as a way for young men to learn valuable trade skills from experienced artisans and mechanics and soon flourished into a fascinating and essential social institution. Benjamin Franklin got his start in life as an apprentice, as did Mark Twain, Horace Greeley, William Dean Howells, William Lloyd Garrison, and many other famous Americans. But the Industrial Revolution brought with it radical changes in the lives of craft apprentices. In this book, W. J. Rorabaugh has woven an intriguing collection of case histories, gleaned from numerous letters, diaries, and memoirs, into a narrative that examines the varied experiences of individual apprentices and documents the massive changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution.

A first rate piece of scholarship and must reading for students of early American history. --The William and Mary Quarterly

A vivid and vigorously argued history of apprenticeship in America. --Journal of Social History

[A] scholarly and well-documented book....Absorbing and illuminating. --Washington Post Book World

[An] engaging history. --The Philadelphia Inquirer

A highly engaging and insightful study of how the political, commercial, and industrial revolutions in America transformed the lives of those on the bottom rung of the craft ladder....An important contribution to the understanding of the artisan experience in America. --Business History Review

Americana at its fascinating best....The story of apprenticeship in the US offers a fascinating perspective on the nation during its formative years. Rorabaugh brings these seminal decades alive with vivid first-hand accounts drawn from letters, diaries, memoirs and other primary sources....An original and engaging contribution to scholarship with appeal that goes well beyond an academic readership. --Kirkus Reviews

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