Attitudes Towards Women

The Lowell Experiment was an industrial project that tried to avoid the negative aspects of the Industrial Revolution in England. Women and young girls were especially appealing to the Lowell Experiment because of their nimble fingers. Another appealing factor of the women was that they would make obedient workers because women during that time were used to taking orders from men.

In an attempt to motivate women and young girls to go to the Lowell Mills, corporations promised that the girls would maintain morality and dignity. The way that authority was distributed in the mills and mill houses directly reflects the attitudes towards women in the 1800’s. A paternal system maintained throughout the mills reflected the dynamic of most families. The factory overseer set rules such as Church on Sundays, curfew at 10, and mill hours. The factory overseer was the “father figure” for the mill girls. The mother figure was the boardinghouse keeper. The boardinghouse keeper regulated behavior outside the mill, and the ‘home’ environment of the boarding house.

The benefits of working in the Lowell Mills definitely outweighed the costs. Although girls didn’t make much they made enough so that they could buy clothes of their own, they could put money towards their dowry, and they could send money back to their families to help pay for the mortgage. Girls also gained a lot of independence from their families. The mill girls looked out for each other, and were welcoming to new girls at the mill. Some negative aspects of the mill were that although the girls looked out for each other when one stepped out of line they made sure she was punished by being blacklisted from other mills. Being black listed meant that your name was put on a list and were turned away from any mill that saw the list. Working in the Lowell Mills was a good thing for most women and young girls.