Lowell+Mill+Girls

"Mill Girls” became the name for women workers in New England textile mills during the first half of the 19th Century. They were responsible for the machines for spinning and weaving. The girls were owned by a corporation.
 * “The Lowell system” popularized wage labor which relied on the young “mill girls” to increase efficient productivity this influenced the increase of profits.
 * The competition of the mills made work difficult for the women.
 * In response to the working conditions the Lowell Mill Girls created the Factory Girls Association and went on strike. They demanded better working conditions and a 10 hour work day.
 * For more, see The Lowell Mill Girls Go on Strike, 1836 from History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web.
 * First Union of Working Women from the AFL-CIO.
 * Uses of Liberty Rhetoric Among Lowell Mill Girls



Multimedia Resources
Watch a clip on the Lowell Mill Girls, here. Bread and Roses poem and song.


 * Click here for an interactive experience about the life of a Lowell Mill Girl from the Tsongas Industrial History Center.


 * Decide Eliza Paige's Future! from University of Massachusetts Lowell Tsongas Industrial History Center



Teaching Resources and Lesson Plans

 * Have your students learn about the Lowell Mill Girls through becoming one by researching their daily lives. Lesson plan here.
 * The Lowell Mill Girls from the Maryland State Archives features a collection of resources for teaching about the topic.

Was Dickens's Christmas Carol Borrowed from Lowell's Mill Girls? The Boston Globe, December 15, 2013.