The Lowell Strike Protest Song Of Francis C. Lowell

Death after death after death. One by one they passed away in tragic, horrific accidents. On top of the daily deaths, wages dropped and riots began. Women and children began to question whether the mills in Lowell, Massachusetts were a new beginning for them, or the end of it all. In the early to mid 1800’s, Francis C. Lowell, an American born and raised in Massachusetts, created mills to generate a working place for women and children. While the mills provided shelter and money for girls, these were considered dead end jobs. The mills were hazardous, the hours were long, and the wages were low, which caused most workers to become upset and exhausted.
Granted, the mills allowed women and children to make money for their families, as well as
As they were on strike, they would sing the Lowell Strike Protest Song, written in 1836. Women would sing, “I cannot be a slave, I will not be a slave,” to prove their points to their employers. Women felt like they were being treated poorly and that they deserved higher wages than the wages they were currently receiving. Although the workers felt like slaves, they were not. Slaves were fed and given shelter such as these girls, but slaves did not receive any payment whatsoever. Women were given payment, just very little. In spite of the fact that women did sing this song, this song is not a realistic or reliable source. Women were treated slightly better than slaves, even though women were seen as easily replaceable and disposable, whereas slaves were seen as an investment. However, historians and other readers can determine that the women on this time period felt inferior to others. Women felt like they were treated unfairly and they felt like they deserved more than they were receiving. For example, in the Autobiography of Harriet Hanson Robinson, she claims, “the corporation would not come to terms,” creating a heartbroken sea of women in Lowell. Women felt like they had no rights and had no way to overcome corporation. In the end, girls went back to work and accepted the lower wages they began to
“The Harbinger” professes, “there is no privacy, no retirement, here.” Girls had to share rooms with up to five other girls, two to a bed. Girls found it hard to obtain any alone time to think, read, write, etc. Even though the girls were given shelter, they received poor shelter. With six girls to a quaint room, it is presumed that disease could spread quickly from person to person, causing fatal deaths. Even so, the magazine report was written by social reformers, not workers, causing the article to be unreliable. It is questionable whether or not the social reformers left out prominent information about the working conditions and living conditions in the mills. In addition to that, it is debatable whether the social reformers thoroughly observed the mills before this report was written and published. Nevertheless, analysts should consider the information written in “The Harbinger” because it does discuss important facts about life in the Lowell mills. “The Harbinger” states facts about the mills and some of the conditions that can be proved with other primary sources from the time, including, but not limited to, the Mary Paul Letter. Because of this, the document should not be ruled out as unimportant and useless, only slightly