Industrialization Of Women In The 1800s

Industrialization was growing and spreading vigorously. Many more people became open to the ideas of industry/factories. In 1789, a young British man named Samuel Slayer emigrated to the US and built his one machines and started up the ideas of factories in the United States. Because of this many more people followed in his foot steps. Little later in 1813, the American Textile industry was revolutionized. Due to these new industries, money grew and was able to help fund more operations. All of this was getting popular especially in Massachusetts. Suddenly, it had become a model for other places as well. Thousands of women started leaving their rural homes to come and work as “mill girls” in the factory towns. From here the women started making high wages and gaining independence. Although girls were now working in the factories, supervisors started paying a lot of attention to them, to make sure they were putting in proper behavior inside and outside the
factories. The mill girls worked/toiled more than 12 hours a day, 6 days a week for pretty decent wages. Some women saw it as being a servant but others like Lucy Larcom saw it as the only other job open to women. Lucy stated, “Country girls were naturally independent, and the feeling that at this new work a few hours they had of every day leisure or entirely their own was a satisfaction to them. They preferred it to going out as ‘hired help.’ It was like a young man's pleasure in entering upon business for himself. Girls had never tried that experiment before, and they liked it.” For this quote I believe the feelings she has described are pretty typical.
Because back then all women really did was work at home. So when everyone started hearing about all of the new industries that were being g brought in, I think that people jumped right into it and saw it as a great way to live because it was so different to what they were used to. By her saying the new ways of either being called independent or not so independent probably also made an impact of them. In the end of her statement she said how girls have never tried that experience before and they liked it. Which I believe that they've never tried it before so that's pretty typical but where she said they liked it, is another idea. I believe only some women like the idea of this new change and actually working it because it made them stronger and in some ways more independent. But, then again I believe it's not so typical for others to feel that way because it was hard work compared to what women were doing in earlier
times. In conclusion, for the most part in Lucy Larcom’s statement, it was pretty typical. But then again in other ways not so much. Not all women liked this new change. So I believe most of the things stated were a matter of opinion rather then based on hard facts/evidence.