Some Mills aren't as Bad as You Think

Last week in class we learned about the different working conditions between the United States and Great Britain. This blog post is all about what motivated women to work in the Lowell mills and the benefits of working in the Lowell mills.

Women wanted to work at the Lowell mills for many different reasons. There was something called “The Lowell Experiment” which was an industrial project that tried to avoid the negative aspects of industrialization in England. It was also a way to try to convince parents to let their daughters come and work at the mills by telling their parents that the girls will maintain mortality and dignity of temporary workers. The mill owners also said that they have something called a ‘Paternal System’, this is basically saying that the girls will be protected which was a big concern from the parents. There was both a mother and father figure at the Lowell mills. The father figure was the corporation and the person who sets the rules such as, church on Sunday, curfew at ten, mill hours and code for behavior. The mother figure was the boarding house keeper, she regulates behavior outside mill hours and maintain ‘home’ environment. We watched a video called “Daughters of Free Men” which also showed many of the benefits/motivations to work at the Lowell mills. Some of the benefits to the girls were that they got to earn their own money, buy their own clothes and their own independence, the girls family would also get money that the girls would send home

This picture is from an article we read in class called “Lowell- The Factory in the Garden”. This picture is from a book cover with many journal entries from girls working in the mills about their experience. This makes it look like the factories are very nice places to work, it also show the girl holding a book which could mean that the girls were educated and had free time to do other things which may make girl want to work at the Lowell mills.

The “Lowell Experiment” and the mill girls era ended around the same time of the civil war. The “Lowell Experiment” increased immigration, provided a cheap labor with cheap labor and living and working conditions deteriorated in the city. The mill girls left their impacts by changing the awareness of women working outside their homes, living away from their parents, being educated and writing for the public. Many mill girls would go become women’s activists or outspoken abolitionists when they leave the mills.