August 30-September 1, 2010

Workers no longer need specialized skills.

The work was often very simple and workers were only taught one job in the mill.

Samuel Slater had a plan to keep workers in his mill.

The Rhode Island System The strategy of Samuel Slater to hire

families and dividing factory work into simple tasks

Many families believed that factory work was similar to farm work.

Tasks were simple enough for children to contribute as well!

How did these families get paid? Children were paid very low wages.

Wages for families was often paid in store “credit.”

Some items were often paid over time.

Why?▪ It allowed mill owners to reinvest their money

in their business.

Mill owners would often go to poor communities who welcomed the opportunity to earn money and learn a new skill.

Where can you see that today?

Immigrant workers Low-income families Unemployed

Slatersville Mill town Included homes for

workers The owner’s home Company Store Slatersville Mill

Francis Cabot Lowell Developed the Lowell System that

change the textile industry:

Def.:▪ Based upon the water-powered textile mills

that employed young, unmarried women from local farms.

▪ The systems included a loom that could both spin thread and weaved cloth in the same mill.

The Lowell Girls Paid between $2 to $4. (Good pay!) Room and Board ($1.25) Better work than family farms Encouraged to:▪ Take classes▪ Form Women’s clubs

This textile work was difficult! Girls needed hair pulled back! ▪ Why? P.393

Hot, stuffy rooms (Dehydration) Major cuts to hands with treads Loud machines (Deafness) Dust and cotton in air (Damage to

Lungs) Shifts of 12 to 14 hours Mill Girls only worked about 4 years.

Factories quickly produced low-priced goods.

Shop owners had to hire more workers, but pay less wages.

Even factory workers were having a difficult time finding a job.

Trade Unions: Groups that tried to improve pay and

working conditions

Strikes: Workers on strike refused to work until

employers met their demands.

Labor reformers wanted to lower the hours per day.

President Martin Van Buren had granted a 10-hour work-week for federal workers.

Not enough for other workers.

Unions improved work for many factory workers.

Long hours remained for most states.

Child labor would eventually end during the late 1800s.