The Craft Apprentice: From Franklin to the Machine Age in America

Abstract

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 ourished 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.

Nailing Down an Identity – The Voices of Six Carpentry Educators

“…Further time was required to be able to teach others. In England, the English Statute of Artificers (1563) stated apprentices were required to serve seven years (Rorabaugh, 1988). More recently, apprenticeships in New Zealand have tended to be three years.…”

“…Apprentices are identified as those 'doing their time'. In the traditional artisan culture, Rorabaugh (1988) suggests that "status was a function of age, and over time one's status changed as [one] moved from an apprentice, then a journeyman and finally a master" (p.166). Indeed, in order to 'get their ticket' apprentices had to 'do their time'.…”