Industrial Revolution: The Lowell System

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Began in 1760, the Industrial revolution drastically changed America. Initially started by Sir Richard Arkwright in England, the revolution slowly made its way to America. Thirty years later, Samuel Slater introduced America to the factory system. Soon after, Francis Cabot Lowell established a new system of factory work. His ideas are what created the Lowell system which changed America. Before, America was a country where families grew crops and raised animals to survive, during and after the industrial revolution however, even young women could get a job in a factory and make a profit. Overall, the Lowell System positively affected the government, economy and social structure of America.

Paragraph 1: Government policies
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Prior to the revolution, the economy was struggling. America was importing far more goods than they were exporting. This caused a rip in the economy which hurt many major cities and even to the extent of small farming families. America needed a stable economy and it had needed it desperately and thanks to the revolution it got it. Because of factories, America was able to start making many of the products that they have at one time imported from …show more content…

A woman's job in the early 1700s was to cook, clean, teach the children and tend to the house while the men worked outside. However because of the Lowell system, women were viewed immensely different. Thanks to Frances Lowell, not only women but unmarried women were allowed to work in factories and raise money for the family or themselves. However, because the role of women changed, many people were unsure of how to accept their new roles in society. Many were spectacle of women rising society because for the past hundred years, society had viewed the role of the women as lower than men because they were not able to do as much work because most work during the time period was physically demanding and a woman's body is not built as strong as a man's. However, because of the Lowell system, women were able to work and earn money, thus rise to new level in society. But even then, people still viewed women working in the factories as inferior to those women who did not work in the factory. Mostly older women did not believe that the women should work in a factory. For example throughout the book Lyddie, whenever people saw a “factory girl” they always gave her dirty looks and talked about how they should be at home, not working in a factory. They still had an older mindset on the role of women. Even though the workers faced the prejudices of others, they still succeed in life are rose

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