2 chapters across the catalog
The Duke family's expansion into hydroelectric power in 1905 is credited with industrializing the Carolina Piedmont region. By providing cheap electricity to textile mills, the Dukes created an economic ecosystem where they controlled the power, the jobs, and the healthcare. This "company store" model made the university and its associated industries an inescapable force in Durham.
The invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793 transformed upland cotton into a highly profitable cash crop by automating seed removal. This technological shift solidified "King Cotton" as the driver of Southern economic and political policy, necessitating a massive increase in manual labor for picking. The hosts assert that modern America would not exist without the labor of ADOS individuals who fueled this industry.
