1.The introduction of the factory system The first factory in the U.S.--a cotton textile mill built by an Englishman Samuel Slater in Pawtucket,Rhode Island (1793) The success of Slater's factory turned the northeastern region of the U.S.into an important manufacturing center,and the nation a major cotton producer. Samuel Slater 1. The introduction of the factory system • The first factory in the U.S. -- a cotton textile mill built by an Englishman Samuel Slater in Pawtucket, Rhode Island (1793) • The success of Slater’s factory turned the northeastern region of the U.S. into an important manufacturing center, and the nation a major cotton producer. Samuel Slater