Dbq Essay On How Many Women Worked In Textile Mill

Most women worked in textile mills because they wanted to provide money for their families and themselves. Sons were usually the main priority in the family, so women worked to provide education for them. In the 1800s, technology changed the United States workforce. This was caused by a man named Francis Cabot Lowell, who was an American businessman. Lowell went on a trip to Great Britain where inventors and businessmen built the first factories and mills. His main goal was to memorize those ideas and attempt to bring the textile industry to Massachusetts. His trip was a total of two years and during that time, he viewed many different factories and saw lots of different designs and manufactures. Some British developers thought that he was a spy and

Overall, women worked in factories to provide money for their families. They would send their earnings back to their parents so that they could buy necessities in order to survive. The amount of money they earn in the mills is beneficial to the parents income, so it gives them more money to live. Education for boys was the priority for women who worked. A mill worker by the name of Harriet Robinson explained that “To make a gentleman of a brother or a son, to give him a college education was a dominant thought of the better class of mill girls” (Document E). Harriet shows us the importance of working in factories and textile mills during her time. Women focused their earnings and money to ensure their sons schooling and education in hopes of them making more money for the family. Lucy Ann feels like the reason she works is to bring money to her father to spend the money on necessities. She displays this knowledge by saying, “like a dutiful girl, place the money in her father’s hands” (Document F). Lucy explains where her money goes once she earns it in the