Lowell Factories In The 1800s

In the mid-1800s lots of things were being made by machine. For example: clothing, shoes, watches, guns, and farming machines were made. In 1840 the workday was 11 ½ hours. The workers were very tired and they most likely would have accidents. Workers and even children were hurt a lot by the machines. In the summer they were hot and in the winter they were cold, because there was not air conditioning or a heater in the factories. There were no laws to help the working conditions, and even to protect them. The owners didn't care about the workers, they cared about the money. Children would work six days a week and 12 hours or more a day. In the factories it was really hard and dangerous. Children would work the machines

Later life: She died in September of 1823. The plantation where she was born became a tourist attraction.

From 1800-1884, The Market Revolution was a big part of the nation. Developments in technology – railroads, and canals – and manufacturing – the Cotton Gin, and Lowell System – brought both positive social changes – such as the role women played in society – and economic changes, like the opportunity for all to work.

Girls as young as 10 years old start working 13-14 hours a day for 6 days at the Lowell mill. The book “Lyddie” by Katherine Patterson conveys the struggles girls faced in the 1800s because of the working condition in the Lowell. The book revolves around the world of a 13 year old girl who is separated from her family so she can pay the debts and save their farm. Some people say Lyddie should not sign the petition because she needs to earn money for her family. Lyddie should sign the petition because the environment at the mill is not healthy nor is it safe and the corporation makes workers work hard for very less pay and wears them out.

When in 1855 she married Henry Blackwell. At her wedding the minister said bride and groom which was announcing that she would still keep her last name. Even though the marriage laws say different, that the wives were supposed to receive their husbands last names. After that other women started copying her and they would call themselves “ Lucy Stonners”. Since her wedding day her and her husband protested against laws of the time in which had women lost their legal existence upon marriage.

If a child were to work at the mill they would start out as young as ten years old. Most of the children that did work at the mill would got to school for about 6 hours then they would go to work for 7 or so hours. Also many of the women that did work at the mill their husbands had died so they had to provide for their children and they typically had more than two children. It was very rough at the mill, the air was filled with fumes and lint and it would get stuck in the worker's lungs and they would get really sick. It was terrible for the children to because they didn’t have a well developed immune system so they would get sick a lot quicker and they would get

earns 9 sen which is about 4 US cents, they would need to work many days in order to just buy a pound of sugar, radishes or shoes. also, men who worked in any of those textile mills earned way more than a female worker when they both do the same things. when female workers earn as little as 9 sen, men would earns 27 sen as an average daily wage.in another situatuin, young girls would given off to silk mills by their parents.(Doc E) while the family earns earnest money, their daughters would work without lapse till they finished. if they were to break any of those rules they would need to return the earnest money and pay twenty more times the earnest money without

The common belief was that women belonged in the home, cooking, cleaning, doing housework, and taking care of the children. They were not allowed to vote and when married, could not own property, write a will or keep the money they earned, to name a few restrictions. Politically, women wanted to be equal to men. Domestic Industry suggested that women could work and develop their minds and the Market Revolution allowed women to work in factories, but not much changed because they were paid less, and when they married they were required to do to household chores (Doc 5). Economically, the Lowell System allowed women that were not slaves to work in factories, so they could maintain the idea that they were equal to men (Doc 7). Men fooled women into believing that they were in control of their own lives by allowing them to work if they so desired, however, those positions were in no way permanent for them in

When Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1794 there was not much of an impact at first, but once the 1800’s came around the cotton gin gained popularity. The cotton gin was used in the south by slaves to separate the cotton fiber from the seeds. It had teeth that pulled the fiber apart and let the seeds fall out. The north and south, both, were impacted by the cotton gin, but depending on who you ask; workers, slaves, slave/ plantation owners, mills owners; people would have different opinions.

I choose to do the flour industry. Flour was and is a very useful item for baking. Bread was baked a lot in the 1800s. Since flour is used to bake bread, they used flour often.

Most of the women who worked in factories were there because they lacked other opportunities. Many dropped out of school because they married young or had to help their family bring in money. Bowman talks about a young woman named Mary, who explained that she had to quit school to help her mother out after her father passed away (Bowman Reid, 112). Women in the lower class did not have a choice whether they worked or not. Their husbands did not make enough to support their families and some women were left widows with children to

“I shall not stay here… Up before day, at the clang of a bell and out the mill by the bell - just as though we were so many living machines” (Hopkinson 37). Many girls, between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five, worked at textile mills during the Industrial Revolution for eleven to twelve hours a day, with little time to catch their breath and fresh air. The Industrial Revolution started in Europe in the eighteenth century and spread to America during the nineteenth century. Eli Whitney’s invention of interchangeable parts and mass production helped lead the American Industrial Revolution, which started after the War of 1812 and peaked during the 1870’s. During this time period, many factories, mills, and factory cities were constructed, one of which was Lowell, Massachusetts, and employed women because their salaries were lower and therefore cost less. The conditions of the mills and boarding houses that the girls lived in were unpleasant and crowded, and they could easily become ill. Eventually, after the height of the Industrial Revolution, women fought for their rights and better conditions in their workplaces. The Industrial Revolution changed women’s roles in society, as it made jobs that were filled by girls, put them in challenging settings, and united them to work for change in the workforce.

1. As evidenced by the formation of the Lowell Female Reform Association in 1844, female workers in New England

Firstly, the Industrial Revolution affected women in the working and poor classes by allowing them to work in factories and mills. Before this time, women in the working class were primarily working unpaid jobs such as cooking and cleaning around the house for the family, but the industrial revolution gave women the chance to be paid and work outside of their homes (Frader, “Effects of the Industrial Revolution”, BCP). Most women obtained jobs in the textile industry. According to Dr. Christopher Wells, a professor of U.S cultural history at Macalester University, explained that ,“The town of Lowell, MA, for example, was incorporated in 1826 and soon hosted over 30 different mills.” (Wells, “Industrializing Women”, Teaching History). In the Lowell Mills, women expected to work at least thirteen hour days of constant and tiring labor in which women accounted for three-fourths of the workers in the mill. (Wells, “Industrializing Women”, Teaching History). Women factory workers typically made around $3.00 to $3.50 per week which was much greater than most women could earn in their hometowns (Dublin, “Women and

Woman along with the children were affected while working during the industrial revolution. During 1834 and 1836 Harriet Martineau, a British feminist and abolitionist, visited America and enthusiastically embraced the social implications of the Industrial Revolution, (DTA, 223). Martineau compared the lifestyle of women to slaves and said the United States contradicted the principles of the Declaration of Independence. She did believe though with some progress that it could become New England’s new industrial order. One of the Mill factories Martineau visited, Waltham Mill, was a prime example of the scheduled lifestyle of women mill workers. Women Mill workers of all ages worked at Waltham Mill, which I compared to a boarding school because of their strict schedules. The ladies had a time to wake up, to be at work, to eat, and to go to school. A lot of women did not mind the harsh conditions they lived and worked in because they fought for their equality of rights for a long time now.