The Mill Girls
Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History
National History Day 2026
Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History
National History Day 2026
"View of Boott Cotton Mills at Lowell, Massachusetts," Gleason's Pictorial, 1852. Color postcard of wood engraving.
The Strikes of 1834 and 1836
The 1834 and 1836 turn-outs were organized, explicitly political, and revealed the limits of strike action.
Origins of the 1834 Turn-Out
"Faced with falling prices of textile goods, a sluggish market, and rising inventories of unsold cloth, the directors of the mills met and recommended a 25 percent wage reduction... The agents of all the Lowell mills subsequently met and agreed upon a reduction."
— Thomas Dublin, 'Women at Work,' 1979
"The wage cuts threatened to deny women these savings and the economic and social independence they provided, offering instead the prospect of a total dependence on mill work."
— Thomas Dublin, 'Women at Work,' 1979
The Strikes of 1834 and 1836
The 1834 and 1836 turn-outs were organized, explicitly political, and revealed the limits of strike action.
Origins of the 1834 Turn-Out
"Faced with falling prices of textile goods, a sluggish market, and rising inventories of unsold cloth, the directors of the mills met and recommended a 25 percent wage reduction... The agents of all the Lowell mills subsequently met and agreed upon a reduction."
— Thomas Dublin, 'Women at Work,' 1979
"The wage cuts threatened to deny women these savings and the economic and social independence they provided, offering instead the prospect of a total dependence on mill work."
— Thomas Dublin, 'Women at Work,' 1979
The Turn-Out
Agent fires the lead organizer; she waves her bonnet from the office steps as the signal to strike. 800+ women across Lowell walked out of mills.
"When the day came on which the girls were to turn out, those in the upper rooms started first, and so many of them left that our mill was at once shut down. Then, when the girls in my room stood irresolute, uncertain what to do... I, who began to think they would not go out, after all their talk, became impatient, and started on ahead, saying, with childish bravado, ‘I don’t care what you do, I am going to turn out, whether any one else does or not;’ and I marched out, and was followed by the others"
— Former Tremont Mills Operative Harriet H. Robinson, "Loom and Spindle : Or, Life among the Early Mills," 1898
"The Turn-Out at Lowell," Boston Evening Transcript, 18 Feb. 1834. Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences
"We learn that extraordinary excitement was occasioned at Lowell, last week, by an announcement that the wages paid in some of the departments would be reduced 15 percent on the 1st of March. The reduction principally affected the female operatives, and they held several meetings, or caucuses, at which a young woman presided, who took an active part in persuading her associates to give notice that they should quit the mills, and to induce them to “make a run” on the Lowell Bank and the Savings Bank, which they did. On Friday morning, the young woman referred to was dismissed, by the Agent. . . . [She] waved her calash in the air, as a signal to the others, who were watching from the windows, when they immediately “struck” and assembled about her, in despite of the overseers.
The number soon increased to nearly 800. A procession was formed, and they marched about the town, to the amusement of a mob of idlers and boys, and we are sorry to add, not altogether to the credit of Yankee girls. . . . We are told that one of the leaders mounted a stump and made a flaming Mary Wollstonecraft speech on the rights of women and the iniquities of the “monied aristocracy,” which produced a powerful effect on her auditors, and they determined to have their way if they died for it."
- Boston Evening Transcript, "The Turn-Out at Lowell," 18 Feb. 1834. Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Management’s Condemnations
"Mill agents assumed an attitude of benevolent paternalism toward female operatives, and they found it particularly disturbing that women paid such little heed to their advice."
— Thomas Dublin, 'Women at Work,' 1979
". . . notwithstanding the friendly and disinterested advice which has been on all proper occassions communicated to the girls of the Lawrence mills a spirit of evil omen. . . has prevailed, and overcome the judgment and discretion of too many, and this morning a general turn-out from most of the rooms has been the consequence."
— William Austin, "Letter written by William Austin, Lawrence Manufacturing Company Agent, Lowell, to Henry Hall, Company Treasurer in Boston," Letter to Henry Hall, Mar. 1834.
"This afternoon we have paid off several of these Amazons & presume that they will leave town on Monday"
— William Austin, "Letter written by William Austin, Lawrence Manufacturing Company Agent, Lowell, to Henry Hall, Company Treasurer in Boston," Letter to Henry Hall, Mar. 1834.
The Strikers’ Ideology
"We circulate this paper, wishing to obtain the names of all who imbibe the spirit of our Patriotic Ancestors, who preferred privation to bondage... The oppressing hand of avarice would enslave us... as we are free, we would remain in possession of what kind Providence has bestowed upon us, and remain daughters of freemen still."
— Lowell Mill Operative Strike Proclamation, 'Union is Power,' 1834
"“Resolved, That we will not go back into the mill to work, unless our wages are continued to us as they have been.
Resolved, That none of us will go back unless they receive us all as one.
Resolved, That if any have not money enough to carry them home, they shall be supplied."
— Lowell Mill Operative Strike Proclamation, 'Union is Power,' 1834
"“Let oppression shrug her shoulders, / And a haughty tyrant frown... Yet I value not the feeble threats / Of Tories in disguise, / While the flag of Independence / O’er our noble nation flies."
— Lowell Mill Operative Strike Proclamation, 'Union is Power,' 1834
"[Feb 1834]
We the undersigned considering ourselves wronged and our
privileges invades(?) by the unjust and unreasonable oblidgement (sic)
of our wages do hereby mutually and cheerfully engage
not to enter the Factory on the first of March, nor
after for the purpose of work unless the paper which
causes our dissatisfactions be removed and another
signed by the Agent of the Appleton (inserted above: mang) Company purportg (sic)
that our wages shall be after the same rate as previous
to the first of March.
Any person who shall sign this paper and afterward
retracts shall be holden to pay the sum of five
dollars which sum shall be paid over to any
individuals whom the majority shall appoint to
receive the same to be appropriate for the
benifit (sic) of some benevolent object in this Town.
Whereas we the Suffolk weavers do mutually
agree and pledge ourselves to give two weeks
notice on Friday next the 14 day of February
and we do corduially (sic) solicit the weavers of the
Appleton to join us in the Same"
— Suffolk Weavers. "Petition by Suffolk Weavers Against Wage Reduction (1834)." Feb. 1834
"Petition by Suffolk Weavers Against Wage Reduction (1834)." Feb. 1834. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
"Petition by Suffolk Weavers Against Wage Reduction (1834)." Feb. 1834. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Failed 1834 Strike
Strike failed within a week, with mills back at near full capacity.
"Being unskilled and single, the operatives were more easily replaced than male artisans and more mobile than married workers of both genders. They could return to their homes to wait out strikes or hard times; they could move on; or, as was often the case, they could marry and leave gainful employment. Turnover for unmarried women was high, the average stay at Lowell was about two years, and thus the informal work groups that sustained job actions were weak."
— Bruce Laurie, 'Artisans Into Workers,' 1989
"In returning to work the next week, they yielded to the reality that in economic terms they were no match for their corporate employers."
— Thomas Dublin, 'Women at Work,' 1979
"The turn-out, however, proved to be brief, and it failed to reverse the wage reductions. Turning out on a Friday, striking operatives received wages owed them on Saturday, and by the middle of the next week they had returned to work or left town. Within a week of the turn-out, mills were running near capacity."
— Thomas Dublin, 'Women at Work,' 1979
Even in defeat, the quality of leadership was extraordinary.
"It was remarkable, that a few, probably less than half a dozen young women, should manage this whole affair with so much dexterity and correct judgement, that no power, or skill, could be successfully employed against them."
— Local storekeeper Aaron Lummus, quoted in Dublin, Women at Work
Appleton Company Papers. "List of Mill Girls Who Left Mill Due to Wage Reductions (1834)." Feb. 1834. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Appleton Company Papers. "List of Mill Girls Who Left Mill Due to Wage Reductions (1834)." Feb. 1834. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
The 1836 Turn-Out
In October 1836, at the request of boarding house matrons, mill owners approved an increase in room and board without raising wages, effectively another wage cut.
Appleton Company Boarding House Matrons. "Petition by Boarding House Matrons to Increase Boarding Charge. (After 1835)," Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Appleton Company Boarding House Matrons. "Petition by Boarding House Matrons to Increase Boarding Charge. (After 1835)," Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
"To the Agents & Directors of the Appleton Manufacturing Company in Lowell. The undersigned would respectfully represent to you, that they are unable longer to board the operatives in your employ for the existing prices. Owing to the increasing high prices of provisions & other et cetera — pertaining to a boarding house, the actual cost of board has increased since 1834 to the present time 35 per cent. So that under existing circumstances they do not receive the cost for the bare provision consumed & nothing for the wear of bedding & labor. Which circumstances they wish to present before you to show that unless the price of board is raised at least 25 cents per week they cannot long remain your tenants. And as there is an immediate necessity of something being done, they would wish you to fix as early a day as the 1st of April next to add the amount above named to the present price of board per week."
— Appleton Company Boarding House Matrons. "Petition by Boarding House Matrons to Increase Boarding Charge. (After 1835),"
~1,500 workers turned out (25-30% of workforce)
"It was estimated that as many as twelve or fifteen hundred girls turned out, and walked in procession through the streets. They had neither flags nor music, but sang songs, a favorite (but rather inappropriate) one being a parody on ‘I won’t be a nun.’ ‘Oh! isn’t it a pity, such a pretty girl as I — Should be sent to the factory to pine away and die? Oh! I cannot be a slave, I will not be a slave, For I’m so fond of liberty That I cannot be a slave."
— Former Tremont Mills Operative Harriet H. Robinson, "Loom and Spindle : Or, Life among the Early Mills," 1898
"I Cannot Be a Slave." Mill Girls. Performed by members of the Saint Michael's College community, Saint Michael's College
"To be forced, out of economic necessity, into lifelong labor in the mills would indeed have seemed like slavery."
— Thomas Dublin, 'Women at Work,' 1979
"In the 1836 strike they censured this ‘kind of slavery’... Wage slavery was a powerful image but a sectional one rarely invoked south of Philadelphia. It was too easily mistaken for abolitionism to be heard in the Cotton Kingdom."
— Bruce Laurie, 'Artisans Into Workers,' 1989
Two companies fully capitulated: Merrimack and Boott rescinded their rate increases.
"Merrimack and Boott houses have discontinued extra allowance to boarding houses."
— Mill agent letter during the 1836 strike, quoted in Dublin, Women at Work
Even partial victory didn't last.
"The dissatisfaction of the operatives subsided, or burned itself out, and though the authorities did not accede to their demands, the majority returned to their work, and the corporation went on cutting down the wages. And after a time, as the wages became more and more reduced, the best portion of the girls left and went to their homes"
— Former Tremont Mills Operative Harriet H. Robinson, "Loom and Spindle : Or, Life among the Early Mills," 1898
Political Action
The LFLRA and Petition Campaigns
In 1844, Lowell Female Labor Reform Association was founded; the first all-female labor union in America.
1845 petition: 2,139 signatures (1,151 from Lowell)
1846 petition: 4,000+ from Lowell; 10,000+ statewide
"Clearly the labor movement in Massachusetts had come of age, and women workers in the Lowell mills were at the heart of the struggle."
— Thomas Dublin, 'Women at Work,' 1979
Factory Tracts
"We would call upon every operative in our city, aye, throughout the length and breadth of the land, to awake from the lethargy which has fallen upon them, and assert and maintain their rights. We will call upon you for action— united and immediate action."
— Anonymous Operative, "Some of the Beauties of Our Factory System—Otherwise, Lowell Slavery" Factory Tracts, 1845
"We would wish to call upon the hardy independent yeomanry and mechanics, among the Granite Hills of New Hampshire, the woody forests of Maine, the cloud capped mountains of Vermont, and the busy, bustling towns of the old Bay State—ye! who have daughters and sisters toiling in these sickly prison-houses... Do you ask how that aid can be administered? We answer through the Ballot Box."
— Anonymous Operative, "Some of the Beauties of Our Factory System—Otherwise, Lowell Slavery" Factory Tracts, 1845
"There is in this city an Association called the Female Labor Reform Association, having for its professed object, the amelioration of the condition of the operative. Enrolled upon its records are the names of five hundred members—come then, and add thereto five hundred or rather five thousand more, and in the strength of our united influence we will soon show these drivelling cotton lords, this mushroon [sic] aristocracy of New England, who so arrogantly aspire to lord it over God’s heritage, that our rights cannot be trampled upon with impunity; that we WILL not longer submit to that arbitrary power which has for the last ten years been so abundantly exercised over us."
— Anonymous Operative, "Some of the Beauties of Our Factory System—Otherwise, Lowell Slavery" Factory Tracts, 1845
Legislative Testimonies
"Miss Sarah G. Bagley said she had worked in the Lowell Mills eight years and a half... The chief evil, so far as health is concerned, is the shortness of time allowed for meals. The next evil is the length of time employed—not giving them time to cultivate their minds... She had presented a petition, same as the one before the Committee, to 132 girls, most of whom said that they would prefer to work but ten hours. In a pecuniary point of view, it would be better, as their health would be improved."
— Sarah Bagley Testimony. Massachusetts House Document No. 50, Massachusetts State, General Court, House of Representatives, Massachusetts House Special Committee on Labor. Investigation of Labor Conditions. Mar. 1845.
"Thinks that there is no day when there are less than six of the females out of the mill from sickness. Has known as many as thirty."
— Eliza Hemmingway Testimony, Massachusetts House Document No. 50, Massachusetts State, General Court, House of Representatives, Massachusetts House Special Committee on Labor. Investigation of Labor Conditions. Mar. 1845.
"In the summer season, the work is commenced at 5 o’clock, a.m., and continued till 7 o’clock, p.m., with half an hour for breakfast and three quarters of an hour for dinner. During eight months of the year, but half an hour is allowed for dinner. The air in the room she considered not to be wholesome. There were 293 small lamps and 61 large lamps lighted in the room in which she worked, when evening work is required."
— Eliza Hemmingway Testimony, Massachusetts House Document No. 50, Massachusetts State, General Court, House of Representatives, Massachusetts House Special Committee on Labor. Investigation of Labor Conditions. Mar. 1845.
"She is a weaver, and attends three looms. Last pay-day she drew $14.66 for five weeks work; this was exclusive of board. She attributes her ill health to the long hours of labor, the shortness of time for meals, and the bad air of the mills."
— Judith Payne Testimony. Massachusetts State, General Court, House of Representatives, Massachusetts House Special Committee on Labor. Investigation of Labor Conditions. Mar. 1845.
Building the Movement
At their peak, mill girls were the majority of the early American labor movement.
The NEWA
Mill girls participated in founding the New England Workingmen’s Association.
First regular NEWA meeting (Boston, May 1845): 10 of 30 delegates were women.
March 1846: 3 of 8 directors of the renamed New England Labor Reform League were Lowell women.
"Lowell operatives were active in the formation of the New England Workingmen’s Association, which, despite its name, depended in no small part on the organizing efforts of workingwomen."
— Thomas Dublin, 'Women at Work,' 1979
"In 1845 women had comprised fully two thirds of Lowell ten-hour petition signers. As a consequence representative William Schouler had summoned a predominantly female delegation to testify before the committee investigating the mills that winter."
— Thomas Dublin, 'Women at Work,' 1979
Suppression
"In numerous ways mill management attempted to thwart the labor reform movement. In both Lowell and Manchester, reformers on occasion were denied use of city hall for their meetings. Overseers were said to have discharged workers found to be subscribing to the Voice of Industry. Activists also had to be careful about the corporate blacklist, for if they missed work by attending a labor meeting they might well be discharged. Lowell workers planning to attend a NEWA meeting in Nashua were advised to ‘play the hypocrite, and go into the country sick, that you may attend the Convention, without having your name sent to the counting room black lists.’"
— Thomas Dublin, 'Women at Work,' 1979
The Lowell Offering began in 1840 as the first periodical written exclusively by women, a direct counter to the claim that mill girls were degraded.
"Look at the Lowell Offering—a periodical supported entirely by contributions from the operatives: that little monthly we regard as an eloquent sign of the times. How would Washington and his compatriots have been delighted could they have looked forward forty years into the heart of the future, and seen elegant essays issuing from the cotton-mill, as an index of the progress to which they gave so glorious an impulse!"
— Unsigned, "Conditions of American Factory Girls." The New World, 29 Apr. 1843.
LOWELL OFFERING, 1845. - Cover of the final December 1845 issue of 'Lowell Offering.' Fine Art. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopœdia Britannica.
"Under attack from Sarah G. Bagley and others, Farley denied that her magazine was supported by the corporations, but Farley’s father and brother both received help from mill-owner Amos Lawrence, and the Hamilton Company bought up $1000 worth of back numbers during the Lowell Offering’s last year."
— Britannica Editors, "Harriet Farley." Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Nov. 2025
The reaction was being neutralized; the publication believed to give workers a voice published mainly pro-system perspectives.
"We are under restraints, but they are voluntarily assumed; and we are at liberty to withdraw from them, whenever they become galling or irksome. Neither have I ever discovered that any restraints were imposed upon us but those which were necessary for the peace and comfort of the whole... the wages of factory girls are higher than those of females engaged in most other occupations."
— Anonymous Operative, "Factory Girls" The Lowell Offering, Dec. 1840
"The preceding article, with the accompanying note, written for the Lowell Offering, and rejected by the Editress, is at your disposal. If you deem it worthy a place in the Tracts you are about to publish you are at liberty to use it."
— Anonymous Operative, "Some of the Beauties of Our Factory System—Otherwise, Lowell Slavery" Factory Tracts, 1845