Q) Elaborate on developing community sense and labour unionism among the Lowell women

workers that ignited the Ten- Hour Movement in the 1840s.

Lowell textile mills were a collection of massive, sprawling mills that before the 1850s were a
celebrated cultural and economic attraction. The astonishing productivity of the machinery as well as
the fact that women comprised most of the workforce were the most unique aspects of these mills.
It was established in 1821 in Massachusetts and employed Yankee women from the countryside. The
mill soon became the largest textile manufacturer; but overproduction led to a series of wage cuts.
This drove the women workers to protest, in 1843, 1834, 1836, and 1848.
Unique aspect of work In Lowell mills
These labour movements contributed to our understanding of response of workers to the
growth of industrial capitalism and transformation of old values in a new setting. The most
significant aspects of the Lowell mill workers that are of interest are the close knit nature of
community, structure of work, nature of boarding, all of which contributed to the growth of
consciousness as a community among women workers.
The mutual bonds created by women during their hours of shared labour made united action
possible in times of crisis. The term community is used here mostly with reference to the
development of bonds of mutual dependence between the workers. The intertwined experiences of
working the looms, shared boardings led to the women being conscious of their identity of their
experience as a community.
Structure of mill work
The mutual dependence was rooted in the structure of mill work. New operatives were
adjusted in gradually, and were initially used as spare hands assisting the main workers. This led to
development of community, as beginners relied on others heavily and looked to help from the senior
ladies. In fact, interaction between old and new workers were sanctioned by the mill owners and was
encouraged formally. The mill workers seems to have realised the development of ties of
interdependence between workers as beneficial. They developed personal friendships and often
covered for each other during absence.
Nature of work
Nature of work conditions too contributed to the development of community. Most women
were housed in company boarding houses, and all of them lived or worked with each other. The
workers lived in close quarters and had tight work schedules. This gave little opportunity for external
socialisation. There was little scope for privacy within the boarding houses, which led to immense
pressure to conform to group standards. It was crucial for a newcomer to integrate into the
community of workers, with their rural background to transition into an urban industrial lifestyle.
Recruitment into the mills were through personal contacts, and all new members had at least one
previous acquaintance at the mill.
The newcomers stood out initially, in terms of speech and dress. Over time, they dropped
the ‘twang’ in their accents and bought clothes that conformed to a more urban lifestyle. The
pressure to conform to group standards was immense. The women ate together, rested, read and
sewed together. This led to the all-pervasive nature of community; which put immense pressure on
those who did not follow group standards. An unspoken moral code was also enforced. Henry Miles,
a minister in Lowell wrote about this, where women were expected to follow moral standards, failure
of which led to social ostracization.
homogeneity
 In addition to nature of work and structure of housing, the homogeneity of the workforce
also contributed to the development of community at Lowell. In this period, the workers were
homogenous in terms of sex, nativity and age. These 3 factors meant that the women workers had
little contact with men during their daily lives. Men and women did not work in the same rooms and
did not perform the same tasks. The only men with whom they had contact with were their
supervisors. The workforce was homogenous in terms of ethnicity as well. Most of the women were
drawn from the New England stock from the Lowell countryside, with very little immigrants. All of
these aspects of community development are significant, in light of the labour strikes that occurred.
1834 strike
The first strike happened in 1834, in protest against a reduction in wages. 800 of the workers
“turned out”, marched to numerous mills in an attempt to induce others to join them. The strike
proved to be brief and failed to reverse the wage reductions. The act of protest was seen as un-
feminine, therefore despite its failure its occurrence is significant in the first place. Mill agents had
adopted an attitude of benevolent paternalism towards the women, and were deeply dissatisfied
with their act of dissent.
Causes-
Thomas Dublin identifies two principal reasons for women turning out- one was because the
wage cuts undermined their sense of dignity and social equality which was an important element in
their Yankee heritage. Secondly, the wage cuts were seen as an attack on their economic
independence. The social implications of the wage cuts were highlighted, and they drew from their
patriotic past. Additionally, the protest signified a belief in social equality; reductions signalled that
the workers were subordinates than equal partners in a contract binding on both parties. However,
as a matter of fact the mill operatives were subordinate in Lowell’s social and economic order, but
they did not consciously accept this fact.
The economic independence factor had 2 aspects- one was that the high wages made them
self sufficient and independent at home, and secondly they could save enough and leave the mills for
their homesteads when they desired. But mainly, it was the existence of a tight knit community that
turned individual opposition of wage cuts into a collective protest.
1836 strike
The second strike in 1836 was also for wage reduction, leading to marches and outdoor
rallies. The second strike was much larger in scale and also displayed a higher degree of organisation.
This time there was a deliberate attempt to shut down mill operations. The protests declined and
remerged in 1840s in the wake of newfound prosperity. mill operatives brought out petition
campaigns to the state government to limit the hours of labour within the mills. This meant the
protests were more political in nature now. Unable to curb wage cuts, the operatives now sought to
reduce working hours. They sought to achieve this goal through political action. The Ten Hour
Movement was the logical movement of their action.
Ten Hour Movement
This is also tied in with the growth of permanent labour organisations in the 1840s. the
Lowell Female Reform Association was set up in 1845 and became lowell’s leading organization over
the next 3 years. Voice of Industry, a labour weekly published in Lowell between 1845 and and 1848
by new England workingmen’s association was an important education and organizing tool. The ten
hour movement involved both men and women. Both men and womens group organized to secure
the passage of the legislation setting the length of working day at 10 hours. When legislative
committee came to hear testimonies, both men and women testified in favour of 10 hour working
day. Women had the numbers and men had the votes, which was significant because the 10 hour
movement was largely a political struggle. Although women were more active in the movement, they
were dependent on male votes and legislators for the success of their movement.
Although the women operatives cooperated with working men, they also operated
independently within the 10 hour movements. Important petitions were sent to state legislatures in
which more than 90 percent of the signatures were that of women. The separation of men and
women in daily lives were reflected in their participation in 10 hour movement. Participation of
women was based on a sense of dignity and self worth as children of free men. It is also associated
with the growth of a new consciousness-based on relying on themselves than on corporate
benevolence and rejecting paternalism.
The Lowell mill protest presented a contradictory picture of the effect of capitalism. Although
work conditions were oppressive as the protests signalled, the mills provided women with work and
unprecedented freedom. The challenging of employee paternalism was a direct consequence of this
newfound freedom.