100 Objects #12: "Negro Cloth"

"Negro cloth"—a term for various textiles marketed for use on American slave plantations—reveals the deep economic entanglement between Northern industrialization and Southern slavery. Historian Seth Rockman, author of *Plantation Goods*, explains how New England manufacturers, such as the Hazard brothers in Rhode Island, profited by provisioning plantations with these goods. This system integrated factory production with household labor, creating a symbiotic relationship where Northern prosperity relied on the exploitation of enslaved people. Enslaved individuals sometimes influenced the design of these textiles to improve their own material conditions, yet the trade remained rooted in systemic violence. Ultimately, this history challenges the narrative of Northern innocence, illustrating how global capitalism often relies on the obfuscation of its origins and the commodification of human suffering, a dynamic that persists in contemporary supply chains and consumer choices.