Why Woman Would Work in the Cotton Factories

Hi Readers!

We are still learning about the Cotton Mills in history class and now we are focusing on the woman workers in the Cotton Industry. We have learned all about the reasons why the woman went to work in the mills in Lowell. We also learned about why the girls might not want to work there but why they stayed anyways.

The girls wanted to work in the mills for many reasons. One reason was that the girls didn't want to stay in one place, on the farm, forever. Another thing that motivated the woman to go to Lowell is the excitement to go to a new place and buy new things. It was be a completely different place than the farm most of the woman were used to. In the video we watched in class about a girl and her journey as a mill worker she got to Lowell with the other girls and they gasped and squealed with excitement. They also loved the fact that they would be able to provide for themselves and their families. In the video the girl begged her father to let her go and in trying to do that she said she will be able to send back money for the family. They also got an education when they were working there which was probably more than what they would have gotten staying at the farm. They weren't just taught to be book smart there too they were also taught to be street smart. They were taught to be street smart because of all of the cons of working in the mills.

There were also a lot of cons to working at the mills. The conditions were very bad at the mills. Injuries were very common and deaths would also occur. Although pay first came off as a great thing it was soon not enough for them to send any back to their family. They also were probably not able to pay for anything special for them like they thought they were able to do. I think that this taught them all to stand up for themselves, how they feel, and what they want. In the video the woman workers protested until they got the pay they wanted.

The woman of the 1800's were absolutely looked down upon at the time. Although they did get payed their pay was restricted compared to what many men got. The fact that the girls were only given enough money for board and food also showed how they were thought less of. In addition, the woman were also given the dangerous jobs of working in the mills. This makes it seem that the woman were useless and disposable.

Thanks for reading,
Julianna O