Labor In America

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by
older women who made sure that the girls lived by strict moral
standards. The girls were encouraged to go to church, to read, to
write and to attend lectures. They saved part of their earnings to
help their families at home or to use when they got married. The
young factory workers did not earn high wages; the average pay was
about $3.50 a week. But in those times, a half-dozen eggs cost five
cents and a whole chicken cost 15 cents. The hours worked in the
factories were long. Generally, the girls worked 11 to 13 hours a
day, six days a week. But most people in the 1830s worked from dawn
until dusk, and farm girls were used to getting up early and working
until bedtime at nine o'clock. The factory owners at Lowell believed
that machines would bring progress as well as profit. Workers and
capitalists would both benefit from the wealth created by mass
production. For a while, the factory system at Lowell worked very
...

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in history. In colonial America,
most manufacturing was done by hand in the home. Some was done in
workshops attached to the home. As towns grew into cities, the demand
for manufactured goods increased. Some workshop owners began hiring
helpers to increase production. Relations between the employer and
helper were generally harmonious. They worked side by side, had the
same interests and held similar political views. The factory system
that began around 1800 brought great changes. The employer no longer
worked beside his employees. He became an executive and a merchant who
rarely saw his workers. He was concerned less with their welfare than
with the ...

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