Andersontown, Massachusetts was an early center of industrialization in the Northern Confederation. Andersontown's textile mills attracted large numbers of manual workers. In 1826, these workers attempted to form a labor union that would give them some power and leverage against the mill owners. Sobel describes the organization of the union as "flabby", and the reaction of the mill owners as "strong and swift", though he does not say specifically what actions they took against the union. Sobel concludes by saying that the effort to form a union failed.