Labor in America
The Industrial Revolution was dawning in the United States. At Lowell, Massachusetts, the construction of a big cotton mill began in 1821. It was the first of several that would be built there in the next 10 years. The machinery to spin and weave cotton into cloth would be driven by water power. All that the factory owners needed was a dependable supply of labor to tend the machines. As most jobs in cotton factories required neither great strength nor special skills, the owners thought women could do the work as well as or better than men. In addition, they were more compliant. The New England region was home to many young, single farm girls who might be recruited. But would stern New England farmers allow their daughters to work in factories? The great majority of them would not. They believed that sooner or later factory workers would be exploited and would sink into hopeless poverty. Economic "laws" would force them to work harder and harder for less and less pay. How, then, were the factory owners able to recruit farm girls as laborers? They did it by building decent houses in which the girls could live. These houses were supe
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Lowell Massachusetts, AFL CIO, Knights Labor, Industrial Revolution, Anti-trust Act, Labor America, Progressives AFL, Knights AFL, Debs IWW, Lemuel Shaw, labor unions, knights labor, congress passed, craft unions, industrial workers, labor organization, laws protect, union membership, farm girls, organized labor, american federation labor, employers hire union, railway strike 1877, federation labor afl, union represent workers,
Approximate Word count = 5632
Approximate Pages = 23 (250 words per page double spaced)
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