Within a week, the mills were operating nearly at full capacity. A second strike in 1836—also sparked by wage cuts—was better organized and made a bigger dent in the mills’ operation. But in the end, the results were the same. Those were hard defeats, but the mill girls refused to give up.
Was the Lowell strike successful?
It is hardly necessary to say that so far as results were concerned this strike did no good. The dissatisfaction of the operatives subsided, or burned itself out, and though the authorities did not accede to their demands, the majority returned to their work, and the corporation went on cutting down the wages.
Why did the Lowell Mills fail?
The association helped pass laws the limited working hours but the mills simply ignored the new laws. What is this? The Lowell system continued to fail when Irish immigrants, who started to flock to Massachusetts in 1846 to escape the famine in Ireland, sought work in the mills.
Why were Lowell textile mills successful?
In 1814, the company opened a mill next to the Charles River in Waltham, Massachusetts. This is where Lowell developed and implemented a new approach to textile production. The power loom was a key aspect of industrializing textile production and therefore crucial to Lowell’s success.
What was the Lowell mill strike?
In February 1834, the Board of Directors of Lowell’s textile mills requested a 15% wage reduction, to go into effect on March 1. After a series of meetings, the female textile workers organized a “turn-out” or strike.
Did the Lowell textile mill strike increase wages?
In 1834 and 1836, the mill owners reduced wages, increased the pace of work, and raised the rent for the boardinghouses. The young female workers went on strike (they called it “turning out” then) to protest the decrease in wages and increase in rent.
Why were the Lowell mills important?
In the 1830s, half a century before the better-known mass movements for workers’ rights in the United States, the Lowell mill women organized, went on strike and mobilized in politics when women couldn’t even vote—and created the first union of working women in American history.
When did the Lowell System end?
The arrival of the Irish in Lowell, beginning in 1846, also contributed substantially to the demise of the Lowell System of Labor. With unskilled labor available and willing to work for low wages, the system was no longer needed. By the 1850s the Lowell System was a failed experiment.
What was the immediate cause of the Lowell strike of 1834?
Because of fierce competition for existing jobs, labor lost bargaining power.
How did the Lowell mills work?
Waterwheels, wheels that rotate due to the force of moving water, powered the mills; the rotation of the wheel is then used to power a factory or machine. Belts ran up from the wheels to all floors to run the machines.
What was a unique feature of the Lowell system?
What was a unique feature of the Lowell system? Young farm girls were employed as factory workers and lodged in company boardinghouses.
What was the purpose of the Lowell offering?
The Lowell Offering, both as a general proposition and in its specific contents, used the idea of literary work to ease the cultural tensions associated with the movement of rural women from the family to the factory.
What life was like for the Lowell Mill Girls?
Difficult Factory Conditions
These women worked in very sub-par conditions, upwards of 70 hours a week in grueling environments. The air was very hot in these rooms that were full of machines that generated heat, the air quality was poor, and the windows were often closed.
What impact did the textile mills have on the US?
The factories provided a wide variety of textile products to everyone, everywhere. They were also an important source of new jobs. People moved from farms and small towns to larger towns and cities to work in factories and the many support businesses that grew up around them.
What is the longest union strike in history?
1998 The longest successful strike in the history of the United States, the Frontier Strike, ends after 6 years, 4 months and 10 days.
When the Lowell Mill Girls went on strike in 1836 which tactic did the mill owners used to break the strike?
When the Lowell Mill Girls went on strike in 1836, which tactic did the mill owners use to break the strike? They refused to negotiate with the employees.
Why did the mill girls work?
Women wanted to work at these factories for a variety of reasons or, as Farley noted, for no reason at all. Many came to improve their financial stability, such as earning money to pay off their mortgages or to help out their families. Others worked for the experience rather than the money.
How did the Lowell factory system change after the Panic of 1837?
How did the Lowell factory system change after the Panic of 1837? Factory owners increased the pace of work, cut wages, and began to hire immigrants to replace the farm girls.