Labor and Unions in America :: American America History

Labor and Unions in AmericaThe Industrial Revolution was dawning in the United States. At Lowell, Massach hiretts, the construction of a extended cotton mill began in 1821. It was the first of several that would be built there in the next 10 years. The machinery to spin and weave cotton into stuff would be driven by water power. All that the factory owners needed was a dependable supply of labor to tend the machines. As to the highest degree jobs in cotton factories required neither great strength nor special skills, the owners thought women could do the work as well as or better than men. In addition, they were more compliant. The New England region was home to many young, single farm girls who might be recruited. But would stern New England farmers allow their daughters to work in factories? The great majority of them would not. They believed that sooner or later factory workers would be exploited and would sink into hope little poverty. Economic laws would force them to work ha rder and harder for less and less pay. THE LOWELL EXPERIMENT How, then, were the factory owners able to recruit farm girls as laborers? They did it by building decent houses in which the girls could live. These houses were supervised by older women who made sure enough that the girls lived by strict moral standards. The girls were encouraged to go to church, to read, to write and to attend lectures. They saved part of their earnings to help their families at home or to use when they got married. The young factory workers did not earn high wages the average pay was about $3.50 a week. But in those times, a half-dozen eggs greet five cents and a whole chicken cost 15 cents. The hours worked in the factories were long. Generally, the girls worked 11 to 13 hours a day, six days a week. But most people in the 1830s worked from dawn until dusk, and farm girls were used to getting up early and working until bedtime at nine oclock. The factory owners at Lowell believed that machines would bring set ahead as well as profit. Workers and capitalists would both benefit from the wealth created by mass production. For a while, the factory system at Lowell worked very well. The population of the town grew from 200 in 1820 to 30,000 in 1845. But conditions in Lowells factories had already started to change.