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Protests.mp3Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Deteriorating: Getting worse.
Turn-out: A strike, when workers walked off the job in protest.
Wages: Another word for pay.
En masse: All together.
Irresolute: Uncertain or doubtful.
Factory Girls: Another name for mill girls.
Rev.: An abbreviation for "Reverend," another word for a minister of a church.
Behalf: As a representative of.
Advocated: Spoke in favor of.
Workers Unite for Better Working Conditions
Workers Unite for Better Working Conditions
Even before you got to Lowell, the working conditions were deteriorating. Mill management began to speed up machines, and stretch out the work, making workers operate more machines for little extra money. Management is now threatening pay cuts for the workers, and some workers are thinking about having "turn-outs," or strikes, for better conditions. You are not sure if you should join them.
Kid Leader!
Kid Leader!
Harriet Hanson, 11 years old, leads the other workers on her floor out of the mill to strike for better conditions and fair pay.
Primary Document
Primary Document
"When it was announced that the wages were to be cut down . . . it was decided we would strike en masse. . . .
When the day came on which the girls were to turn out . . . the girls in my room stood irresolute, uncertain what to do . . . [I] started on ahead, saying, 'I am going to turn out, whether any one else does or not,' and I marched out, and was followed by the others."
Newspaper Accounts
Newspaper Accounts
Newspapers report on the strike. People all over New England learn about the protests.
Primary Document
Primary Document
"The Factory Girls at Lowell turned out on Saturday, because their wages were reduced twelve and a half cents. . . . Yesterday afternoon at 2 o'clock, the girls were assembled in the Grove on Chapel Hill . . . to the number of about two thousand. . . . They appeared cheerful and happy, and seemed to think it a fine holiday."
Primary Document
Primary Document
"During the turnout of the Lowell girls, the Rev. Mr. Scott, of that town, stepped forward on their behalf, and advocated for their cause. . . ."
Protest for Better Working Conditions Questions
Protest for Better Working Conditions Questions
Pull out your paper and pencil and answer the questions below. Later, you will transfer your answers to a Google Form to submit them to your teacher.
Think of a time in your life when you were faced with a rule that you thought was unfair.
What was the rule?
Why did you think it was unfair?
Just like Harriet fought for her rights as a young person in 1836, how can people your age go about making change in the world today?
Quote: Harriet Hanson Robinson, Loom and Spindle, 1898. Newspapers: Portland Advertiser, October 11, 1836 and Public Ledger, October 29, 1836. Center for Lowell History. Top image: Boott Mills boarding house with people c. 1890s. Bottom image: Harriet Hanson Robinson.
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