In the 1800s, many young girls had completed early schooling by ten years. Many would take up domestic duties for some families since they needed to work and help either with the financial situation at home or get the opportunity to earn their own money. Unlike typical young women of their era, mill girls were able to earn their own money, had better educational opportunities. Working in the textile industry was not an unusual occurrence for any girl of a youthful age. Lowell mill girls were the ladies who were working in a textile mill in Massachusetts.
Workers were majorly driven by motivations to beat the hard-economic conditions of the American people during the period. One had to struggle to remain competitive in any production sector, not only in the textile industry. Most of the ladies working in the mill were aged between 15 to 35 (Wudy 50). The young ladies would start working at the mills by changing bobbins on a spinning machine, a position referred to as a “doffer.” Life was enjoyable at the mill, the savings the girls got from their earnings were helping,
The doffers were paid slightly less than the mill girls running the looms. The young women were expected to be working fourteen-hour weekdays until the ten-hour law in 1842. The doffers enjoyed working with older girls in the mill (Gregory 144). The ladies could come to the mill for several reasons, some needed upkeep money, whereas some of the ladies in the textile mill went ahead to work to raise school fees for their siblings. Workers in Lowell mills comprised 75 percent of women, in the entire population (Gregory 143). It is imperative to note that there were strikes and picketing which were a result of poor working conditions, for example, the Lowell Female Reform labor association emerged (Wudy 41). This movement lobbied for women’s rights within their working environment at the textile mills. Low pay and long working hours were some of the reasons cited as poor working terms by the female employees at the mill textile. Nevertheless, the women were hardworking since the growing population left very few job opportunities. There was stiff competition from the males since the mill management preferred them to the ladies (Gregory 136). Male counterparts were seen as hardy and multipurpose.
Working in the mills seemed good for the ladies since the kindness and commonality of older girls in their lives kept the young women motivated in chasing better life opportunities. They could play the piano, read in the library, sew in circles, write letters, and others. Therefore, many early doffers ended up living at the mills, moving from ranks to becoming spinners, carders, and weavers. The young girls stayed at the mills until they returned home, got married, entered a business or trade, or went to college. From the above sentiments, it is evident that despite challenges that faced girls who worked at the mill, there were several opportunities that they valued.
I would have enjoyed life at the mill at that time since there were job opportunities for raising money. Another reason for enjoying life as a mill girl was early employment which brought a sense of personal freedom. Nevertheless, the life of the ladies at Lowell Textile was full of challenges ranging from poor work conditions to hard economic times. Despite the said challenges that encompassed the girls in both their workplaces and homes, they continued to deliver their services to the textile mill. The text herein illuminates the lifestyle that the girls underwent and links the past to modern society in terms of the struggle of women.
Works Cited
Gregory, James N. “A History of America in Ten Strikes by Erik Loomis.” Labor, vol. 17, no. 3, 2020, pp. 144-145.
Wudy, Marina. “Self-Made Women: How American Mill Girls Contributed to the Discourse of American Labor Exceptionalism.” ForAP-Forschungsergebnisse von Absolventen und Promovierenden der SLK, vol. 3, no. 3, 2020, pp. 45-57.