As we look to the future of manufacturing, it’s important to remember the past. Textile manufacturing and the Industrial Revolution were big in Lowell, Massachusetts. In fact, they were the reason the city was even built! However, one of the most important aspects of the industry were the Lowell Mill Girls.
Contrary to popular belief, manufacturing isn’t just for men, nor has it ever been. Women have long been in the thick of the industrial process, and the Lowell Mill Girls are where it started. Without them, it’s likely manufacturing in Massachusetts wouldn’t have taken off, and the industry itself would be extremely different.
New Opportunities for Young Women
When he first began building his textile mills, Francis Cabot Lowell was having a hard time finding able-bodied, male workers. Many American men weren’t interested in working in factories, especially in a fledgling industry. Looking for laborers elsewhere, Lowell made an innovative choice. He broke social norms by employing young, single women between the ages of 15 and 35.
Many of these women were from rural farmlands and didn’t have much by way of job prospects. The opportunity to work at the textile mills was unprecedented. It offered them unheard of financial independence, even if they were still paid half of what men were.
Lowell built boarding houses for them with chaperones so they could live close to the mills in the city. He also provided educational opportunities to help his workers move on to better jobs like teaching and nursing. Because of this, the Mill Girls were able to have a more active social life, education, and future career prospects than many women of the time could have imagined.
The Virtue of Factory Girls
There were, of course, people who were against the radical change the Lowell Mill Girls represented. In fact, when Transcendentalist reformer Orestes Brownson first published his article, “The Laboring Classes” in 1840, he spoke against the Lowell Mill Girls. He claimed that by being laborers, the girls were doomed to early deaths and lack of future prospects. He was also against the wage system as a whole. In response, “Factory Girls” was written and published by one of these laborers. This article pointed out the virtue and benefits of their controversial career choice.
“…it is because our toil is so unremitting, that the wages of factory girls are higher than those of females engaged in most other occupations. It is these wages which, in spite of toil, restraint, discomfort, and prejudice, have drawn so many worthy, virtuous, intelligent, and well-educated girls to Lowell, and other factories; and it is the wages which are in great degree to decide the characters of the factory girls as a class.” – “Factory Girls,” Lowell Offering, December 1840
Improving Labor Conditions
Factories were not the safest or healthiest places to work in the 1800s. While the Lowell Mill Girls gained many opportunities, life was not necessarily easy for them. However, their “toil” made a big impact, and they were able to change the industry for the better.
For starters, employing women helped phase out child labor. This saved the lives of many children who might have suffered under the harsh conditions of the factories. On top of that, the Lowell Mill Girls also created the first union of working women. When wages were cut in 1834 and 1836, they went on strike. While these strikes were ultimately unsuccessful, they did shake things up, showing that the young women would not take unfair treatment lying down.
They earned a more solid victory in the 1840s by shifting their strategy to political action. Women might not have been able to vote, but through petitions and public support, they were able to convince the Massachusetts state legislature to cap the work day in the mills at 10 hours, rather than the 12-14 hours they’d previously endured. From there, they organized chapters in other mill towns in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, published “Factory Tracts” to expose the wretched conditions in the mills, and testified before a state legislative committee.
The hard work and toil of the Lowell Mill Girls is a major part of why the manufacturing industry has become a much safer, rewarding place than what was common during the Industrial Revolution. The steps they took paved the way for manufacturers today to be successful and create lucrative, rewarding, and beneficial careers in the industry.