100 Objects #12: "Negro Cloth"
Summary
Host Roman Mars interviews historian Seth Rockman about his book *Plantation Goods*, focusing on a rare scrap of "Negro cloth" found in archival letters. Rockman explains how Northern manufacturers, like Rhode Island’s Hazard brothers, profited from slavery by producing durable textiles for enslaved people in the South. The episode explores the economic interdependence between North and South, the moral rationalizations of producers, and how these historical supply chains mirror modern ethical dilemmas in global consumerism.
Topics discussed
Sponsors: AT&T Business and Indeed
The difficulty of finding enslaved people's clothing
Discovery of a fabric swatch in archival letters
Introduction to Negro cloth and the episode theme
The Hazard brothers and the rise of Negro cloth manufacturing
Enslaved people as informants in textile design
North-South economic interdependence and complicity
Sponsors: Claude, Article, Progressive, and Dell
Production methods and the definition of Negro cloth
Racecraft and material culture in the 19th century
Morality of New England workers making plantation goods
The Hazards' philanthropy and justification of their business
Local awareness of slavery's role in New England prosperity
Civil War impact and failed Reconstruction consumer hopes
Modern parallels: Global supply chains and ethical dilemmas
Conclusion and credits
Listen ad-free on Castria