Paternalism, the controlling of all aspects of an employee's
life by the employer, was characteristic of many nineteenth- and
early twentieth-century North Carolina mills  and factories. The
roots of paternalism were evident in an earlier era, when
southern slaveholders came to regard taking good care of their
slaves as of primary importance. Although partly a humanitarian
concern, this focus on slaves ' welfare derived mostly from
business considerations; sufficient food, housing, medical care,
and clothing kept slaves at least outwardly content and enabled
them to work more efficiently. This understanding of the
importance of the quality of life of one's workforce continued
to motivate owners in the tenancy system and later in the
creation of mill villages. Paternalism was the philosophical and
fiscal underpinning of many North Carolina cotton mill
villages, which were organized as "company towns" to keep
workers and their families satisfied and thus loyal and more
productive. Paternalistic mill owners als