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 supervised by

members. The program of the Knights of Labor called for: an eight-hour

law also forbade the labor of children under 16 in most occupations.

employers. By 1917, 13 states had passed workers' compensation laws.

Woodrow Wilson. The Progressives were concerned about labor's

confrontation between labor and employers was the Great Railway

for a 10-hour working day and against child labor. A number of state

day, six days a week. But most people in the 1830s worked from dawn

the Knights battled each other. They invaded each other's territory,

the Industrial Revolution meant degradation rather than progress.

many unemployed men who might take their jobs. Yet some workers

encouraged to go to work. Before long, one out of four workers in

they could not support their families adequately. There was little

until bedtime at nine o'clock. The factory owners at Lowell believed

of Labor collapsed. As the Knights declined, a new labor organization

jobless men stood on long lines for a handout of bread and soup. Many

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 5190
Approximate Pages = 21 (250 words per page double spaced)