history of labor in america
The Industrial Revolution was dawning in the United States. At Lowell, Massachusetts, the construction of a big 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 cloth would be driven by water power. All that the factory owners needed was a dependable supply of labor to tend the machines. As most 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 hopeless poverty. Economic "laws" would force them to work harder and harder for less and less pay. 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
The young factory workers did not earn high wages; the average pay was about $3. But they were still forbidden to reveal the name of any member to an employer. They were alarmed by the growing use of court rulings to halt strikes. By 1884, the order had only 52,000 members. " Other employers would not hire anyone whose name appeared on the list. The soldiers advanced toward the crowd and shooting erupted. The factory owners at Lowell believed that machines would bring progress as well as profit. Sometimes eight girls had to share one room. Both strikes ended in complete victories for the Knights. They were charged with refusing to work with non-union shoemakers. Not until 1842 was the way opened again for workers to organize. For this reason, the majority did not join labor unions. When they arrived, the fighting had already ended.
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