Note 9 — Front matter
Reading edition
Slater introduced the Arkwright system of carding and spinning cotton into America in 1790. Bringing neither plans nor models with him from which to build the machines, he relied instead on his detailed knowledge of their construction. England prohibited the export of textile machines, models, and plans, and even attempted to prevent skilled artisans from leaving the country. George S. White, Memoir of Samuel Slater, Philadelphia, 1836, pp. 37 and 71.