Chapter 11 Section 2 Changes in Working Life

What was the Rhode Island System? 8

 Rhode Island System- practice developed by Slater of hiring families to work in mills and then dividing the work into simple tasks (so simple even a child could do it). Workers’ Lives 8

Mill girl looking out window- children were given a 45 minute recess per day and often worked hour days. Children were paid low wages- half of what an adult made per week for the same amount of work. 8

Mill towns were created to attract families. Housing for workers and their families, a company store, the owner’s house, and the mill would constitute a mill town. 8

Who was Francis Cabot Lowell? 9

FFrancis Cabot Lowell was a New England business man whose ideas about finding mill workers completely changed the textile industry. The Lowell System 9

TThe Lowell System hired young unmarried women from local farms to work in the mills. The women worked at a loom that could spin thread and weave cloth in the same mill. 9

Looms the Lowell girls worked at for hours a day for $2 to $4 a week. Women workers at a Lowell mill. Ventilation was poor (causing lung disease) and the sound was deafening. 9

Lowell girls came from farms because factory work paid higher wages. Lowell girls followed a very strict daily schedule with ringing bells ordering them throughout their day. 9

How did the rise in manufacturing jobs affect craftspeople? 10

CCraftspeople felt threatened by the growth of factories and manufactured goods.  They had to work longer hours, hire more workers, and cut worker’s pay just to compete with factories.Craftspeople 10

Why did workers begin organizing to reform working conditions? 11

BBecause an increase in immigration during the 1840s (mostly Irish) led to competition in factory jobs. Immigrants would work for low pay. This competition led to lower wages and lost jobs. PPanic of > tens of thousands of lost jobs Workers Organize 11

How did workers begin organizing to reform working conditions? 12

LLow wages and fear of losing jobs led to trade unions. TTrade unions were formed by workers who tried to improve pay and working conditions. Trade Unions 12

SSometimes labor unions stages protests called strikes. SStrikes were a refusal to work until employers met demands.Strikes

SSarah G. Bagley was a millworker who formed the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association in The 2 goals: OObtain a 10-hour work day IInfluence Mass. To investigate working conditions

“We call on you to deliver us from the tyrant’s Chain.” Sarah Bagley founded the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association in 1844 to improve working conditions and obtain a 10- hour work day.

22 main goals OObtain a 10-hour workday IInfluence Mass. To investigate working conditions Lowell Female Labor Reform Association 12

The first Lowell women’s strike was in 1836 as workers fought against a 15% wage decrease and lobbied for labor reform. 12

1836 Song Lyrics Sung by Protesting Workers at Lowell Oh! isn't it a pity, such a pretty girl as I Should be sent to the factory to pine away and die? Oh! I cannot be a slave, I will not be a slave, For I'm so fond of liberty, That I cannot be a slave. 12

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