🧺 Cottage Industry System 🧺

what is a “cottage industry”?

Before factories, clothes were manufactured using a system called Cottage Industry. Here is how it worked:

Workers were sent textiles from the manufacturer, along with instructions with what to make.
Workers would manufacture the product at home. Normally, the workers were woman, but sometimes the children would help out.
Workers would send the finished product to the manufacturer and they would be paid by the piece.

While this system worked, demand kept rising faster than manufacturers could keep up. And with this problem, so came factories...

Women working in the cottage industry system Source

🛠 Factories 🛠

why factories?

Factories were the next step up in manufacturing. They were far more efficient than the cottage industry system, because everything was in one place, and they had big machines for workers to use that wouldn't have been practical at home. Manufacturers could also save money, because unskilled workers could operate the machines and get just as much work done as a skilled employee.

This was fantastic for unskilled workers—who could now easily find work, but was bad for artisans who had trained to work in cottage industries, who were now out of a job. The new factories mainly hired woman, because they could pay them less. Next, we'll look at what life was like working in a factory.

Children working in a factory Source

Factory Life

what was it like to work in a factory?

Inside the factories, ⁹⁄₁₀ employees were women, who came to do factory work in search of something better (and higher paying) than farm work. For the rest of this story, we'll be focusing on the Lowell factory.

By our standards, the Lowell factory was deplorable. The woman were closely supervised & monitored, and given very little freedom. They had to wake up at 5AM, and be at work by 7AM, where they remained (with a 30-minute lunch break) until 7:30PM. There was very little ventilation in the main working area—in fact the windows were nailed shut, making the main working room feel like an oven. In the winter, it was difficult to breathe because the oil lamps that were being used released smoke. Despite this though, most of the woman were content with their jobs—mostly because it was better, higher paying than any other job they could take.

I am at work in a spinning room tending four sides of warp which is one girl’s work. The overseer tells me that he never had a girl get along better than I do. . . . I have a very good boarding place, have enough to eat. . . . The girls are all kind and obliging. . . . I think that the factory is the best place for me and if any girl wants employment, I advise them to come to Lowell.

An testimonial about Lowell factory work from Mary Paul. (page 262 in our textbook)

🔴 Strike 🔴

when the workers fight back

However, all good things must come to an end, and at Lowell, things got worse. In an effort to increase production and cut down on costs, the Lowell owners tripled the number of spindles and looms, but only doubled the amount of workers. Even worse, in 1834, the owners cut wages by 15%. Finally, the women decided they had enough, and decided to do something about it.

One day in 1834, the women went on strike, issuing a proclamation under the banner UNION IS POWER. They marched to several other mills to encourage other workers to join them, and gathered at a rally where they signed a petition saying that they wouldn't go back to work unless the wages. Sadly, the owners & management were able to quell the strike, and everyone went back to work.

The strikes in Lowell, however, were just the start to what would be dozens of strikes across the U.S.—most of which would also go in favor of employers. Employers were able to easily win because of strikebreakers, who were mostly immigrants from Europe who wanted work and were willing to ignore the strikers.

As I looked back at the long line that followed me, I was more proud than I have ever been since at any success I may have achieved, and more proud than I shall ever be again until my own beloved State gives to its women citizens the right of suffrage [voting].

An quote about Mary Paul's experience during one of the strikes. (page 263 in our textbook)

🏃‍♂️ European Immigration 🏃‍♂️

more people are coming!

Between 1830 & 1860, European immigration to the U.S rose dramatically, with millions of immigrants flowing into the states. Most crowded in the north, due to limited economic opportunity in the south.

What did this mean in terms of the industrial revolution? Well, most of the immigrants acted as strikebreakers—folks who were willing to ignore the strikes and work for little pay. This lead to them being treated as second-class citizens. The Irish had it the worst because they were Roman Catholic (and poor), so Protestant mobs frequently destroyed Irish neighborhoods and made their lives difficult.

A quick video that talks briefly about European immigration during the 1830-50s

🔩 National Trades' Union 🔩

finally!

As workers went on strike throughout the early 1800s, they slowly but surely started to form trade unions. Eventually, a bunch of trade unions tried to get together to form the National Trades' Union.

The National Trades' Union was made up of six industries worth of workers, with their goal being standardized pay and better working conditions. While unionizing, they faced opposition from bankers & owners, who formed their own associations to try to quash the unions.

Another win for unionization happened in 1842, when the Massachusetts Supreme Court supported workers' rights to strike.

Photo of workers striking for better wages (as part of a union). Source

The Changing Workplace

Exploring how the industrial revolution changed the daily lives of New England workers