Although the British and Lowell factories had very similar conditions, those in Britain were a lot worse than those in America. In Britain, the factories had many problems that the workers had to deal with. The sanitation of the factories were extremely poor, the workers were constantly being beaten with little rest time and hardly any pay, and the factories were overcrowded. In the Lowell factories, things were the opposite. The workers had time to rest, the workspace and boarding houses were sanitary and an education was offered to the workers. Although the Lowell factory conditions were better than those in Britain, young workers were hired to work in the mills.
In the British factories, poor conditions were not hard to find. The overseers of the factories were extremely strict and wanted the factory to run properly so they could keep their jobs. According to the documents in class, the workers in the mills Thomas Birks, one of the overseers, treaters the workers as animals. One of the documents says, “Everybody was frightened of him. He would not even let us speak.” Thomas was very free with his hands, and was not afraid to hit the children working. The workers were sometimes being beaten for things they could not control, such as their height. They were punished for any mistake that they made, and since children worked in the factories, this happened often.
The poor conditions in the British all started with the overcrowding in the factories. Britain was a lot smaller than the United States, so the over crowding in the country was brought over to the overcrowding in the factories. Since so many people worked in the factories, the conditions started to crumble. The factories in Britain started to get dirty since so many people were working in them. People’s wages were cut because an excessive amount of people were at work in the factories, and the necessary wage could not be paid because of this.
Also, since the workers were standing all day, they got injuries to their knees and feet. From standing in one place too long without rest, bones would bend and deteriorate. According to the documents we read in class, the workers would get repetitive motion injuries from doing the same motions all day. Since the work days were so long, the workers would fall asleep at the machines. This would cause the workers to get their clothes and limbs to get caught in the machine. Their bodies would get crushed in the machines, and people often died due to this.
On the other hand, the American factories had better working conditions than the British factories. The positive things about the Lowell mills attracted the girls eye to go work there. The girls would be exposed to new opportunities, and they were being paid to learn a trade. The factory room and boarding room were very sanitary. The workers were fed three meals a day.
The only down side to the Lowell mills is that they hired children to work. Child labor was a big problem in the United States. Most children were small were small enough to fit under the machines in case the machine broke or had a problem. This helped the factory run smoothly. Children did not get paid as much as adults did.
The Lowell mills and the British mills were very different working environments. Great Britain had poor working conditions, such as overcrowding, low wages, and frequent accidents. In Lowell, the conditions were better, people were getting paid correctly, and they were receiving an education. The conditions were similar because they both enforced child labor. In conclusion, the British mills had worse living conditions than the American mills.
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