Living conditions and the life of working women
Life in the mills and factories
Lowell Mills (as seen in the left picture), along with many factories, often started to get ready for a long day of work as early as five in the morning. "At seven [in the morning] they are called to the mill" to continue working "until half past seven [in the evening]". Often times, there was a brief time to eat dinner, usually around noon. Surprisingly enough, the long hours was not the thing the women (and girls) considered strenuous. Many of the females were from farms, where long working for long hours with little to no pay was usual. However the farms, where the only thing preventing the women from seeing the blue bonnet sky was sheets of clouds, and the crisp outside was their workshop was much different than the city and the factories. Smog cloaked the sky in the urban areas, and the factories reeked of sweat and hot, damp air. Humidity was thought at the time to prevent thread from snapping, so the "weaving rooms felt like ovens." However, these conditions were typical for the time. Men also often endured similar conditions, so while today the conditions were treacherous and awful, it was just the normal life back then. Women were not treated any worse than men were, so it did not actually deprive women of the rights men had in that area. In fact, Lowell Mills (and some other industries) gave women an education, which is something more men oriented factories did not offer. Another thing the industries offered were housing and food, so they would not have to struggle in an empty, expensive home and pay for the cost of food alone. However, that fact did not stop the Lowell women from speaking out for what they believed was right once sexism became more apparent.
Who were the "Lowell Girls"?
In New England, particularly Massachusetts and Rhode Island during the early 19th century, factories were building and growing. Some factories rose to fame by enlisting women to help work their factories. "In order to realize the profits they expected from the large capital investment in land, buildings and machinery, the Lowell capitalists recruited an untapped source of labor to industrial work: the New England farm girl," Blewett wrote in the introduction of CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO WORLDS: The Diary of a Lowell Mill Girl,Susan Brown of Epsom, New Hampshire. Lowell Mill owners often "hired females because they could pay then lower wages", but on top of pay, they gave mill workers room and board, food and even education when they did not need to work. This was huge for women to gain more rights, seeing as many of the females were from farms where they knew little to nothing about the changing times. Further more, the majority of workers were in between the ages of ten to thirty, and were usually unmarried. The Lowell Mills started to give girls and women something that had never before been handed to them--freedom, and the tools to be their own person. Women wrote wonderful things about how life was improving for them due to the mills. In fact, a woman by the name of Mary Paul wrote, "I think that the factory is the best place for me and if any girl wants employment, I advise them to come to Lowell." Finally, women were wanted somewhere out of the home. Industries that invested in women started to become big businesses. The mill and factory owners were starting to realize that women were highly motivated and productive to their industries. Women were being viewed as hardworking, money-making workers, rather than trophies that belonged to men. The times were changing. Women were starting to realize they could work like men--and excel.
Problems at Lowell and other industries
During 1836 to 1850 or so, owners of Lowell mills started to lower workers pay wages by as high as fifteen percent, on top on tripling "the number of spindles and looms" but hired less than fifty percent more workers to manage them. Since the quota of products they needed to finish before being considered tardy also increased, more workers got fined as well. Naturally, this led a mass of mill workers to band together, nearly eight-hundred, to start to form a strike against Lowell in 1834. Their slogans, like "Union is power" and some others written on signs in the photo, were shouted nearby the mill as the women demanded their wages be restored. They also eventually formed a union called "Lowell Female Labor Reform Association" in the early 1840s, showing how passionate they were. Women, knowing that the Industrial Revolution was their chance to gain equality, started to realize that the time was now to take a stand. After all, if they could have a job like men, then they should be able to speak their mind and be treated like men too. Despite Lowell Mill operators often controlled the women by simply firing women or forcing women back to their spinning jennys, it sent a message throughout the urbanizing United States. Women were starting to gain rights, and they now felt that there was no difference between men and themselves. They were working, they were striking, and they were ready to stop being the exception to "unalienable rights". If they were working hard for money, they deserved fair wages and fair hours. Another thing to bear in mind is that this was not just a "Lowell Mills Event". Women were starting to protest in other places as well. The first time women protested was actually in the year 1824, "in Pawtucket, Rhode Island". One hundred and two women workers had reportedly started to strike in support of the men working in the weaving industry 'by protesting the simultaneous reduction in wages and extension of the workday". (However, the first time women were known to protest alone in a huge massive unit, still applies to Lowell. ) This goes to prove that men were also starting to look for better conditions, as "conditions for all workers deteriorated". Men and women alike both demanded a ten hour workday and higher wages.