Girls Just Want to Have Fun

A mill girl at work. "Song of the Sower"

We’ve been learning about the horrible working conditions in the factories during the Industrial Revolution for a couple weeks now, and it’s clear that the lives the mill girls led were not ones to be envious of. So why were the mills never short of employees? What kept the girls coming to the mills? Jamie told us during our MOSI Google Hangout that before there was the factory system, all cotton was made at home by families. It would be difficult for mills to recruit entire families to work at the factories, so they chose to target one family member specifically. They chose the daughter. Corporations wanted these girls because they displayed all the qualities the factories were looking for. Because of the way the girls were raised, under a very watchful eye, they were likely to be obedient and do the work the factories needed done in the way the factories wanted it to be done. Families were much more willing to let go of their girls rather than their boys because the sons were needed to work on the farms. The mill owners would go to farms and try to convince fathers to let their daughters work at the mills. In the movie Daughters of Free Men, a mill owner was shown painting a wonderful picture of the lovely mills that were very beneficial in the lives of all the girls who worked there. He emphasized that the mills would be like a small family, protecting the girls and making sure they didn’t get into any trouble. The father figure was the corporation, setting rules like a curfew and mandatory attendance at church. The mother figure was the boardinghouse keeper, who would regulate the girls’ behavior outside of mill hours. The girls at the mills always felt safe and happy. Was the mill owner describing the mills truthfully? Nope. Did he end up with enough girls working at his mill? Of course.

Families were willing to send their daughters into dangerous cities alone, not only because the mill owners were so convincing, but for their own reasons as well. With their girls working, there was one less mouth to feed and one less person to look after. Plus the girls would be able to send money home. The girls were eager to work in the mills too. They would get the chance to live an  independent life, which they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do. The girls could earn their own money, buy their own clothes, and live how they wanted to live without worrying about the responsibilities that came with running a household. These corporations changed the girls’ lives for the better in many ways. Girls were provided with an education, a small amount of money to themselves, plenty of food and a place to sleep. They experienced things they would never had gotten the chance to experience on the farm while being kept in good conduct with respectable reputations. Unfortunately, the corporations had their downsides as well. Families were separated, the girls were forced to work in uncomfortable conditions for long hours, received unfair wages, and faced brutal punishment for making mistakes in the factories. Even with the hardships these girls faced, many of them loved the independent lives they leaned to lead. These girls left their mark on the Industrial Revolution and changed the way women and girls live today.