The Rebellious Luddites

 People who don't know who the Luddites are get confused on what a Luddite actually believed in. The Luddites were a group of factory workers that were upset with the work hours and wages so they decided to protest. The first protest happened April 1812 some British troops were ordered to shoot at some of them and a couple of them died. they got very upset and decided to destroy equipment in mills and knitting machines. They would raid those technology places and destroy the machines to protest. A picture is shown at bottom. Bellow is a primary source, a letter from a skilled weaver named Henry to his cousin describing the situation the Luddites have put him in.


Dearest cousin Al,

I have some bad news to share with you. I have been put in a situation that I wish I wasn't in. I have to decide if I believe in the luddite. I know that your biggest decision is probably choosing what your getting off the dollar menus but this is serious. I don't know if I believe in everything they are for. I do think that I need better hours and a lot more of them because I have a family to provide for. I am being forced to decide by tomorrow. I will write to you soon on my decision but I have a long night ahead.


Your dearest cousin,

Russell

A Chance

Women in the 1800s didn’t have many opportunities to be independent. They worked on their father’s farm and didn’t complain.  They had to cook and clean and all of that ended when a recruiter went to houses with girls looking for workers. The girls would get paid and earn money. They would get an education and have a place to stay. That is what the recruiter would say to the fathers. They would not directly say that to the daughters because they knew the final decision would begin and end with the father. The women workers would have many motivations to want to go to Lowell to do strenuous work.

The women had many motivations to go to Lowell to have an opportunity to work and be independent. Women went to work to provide for their families, it was a good economical opportunity and money could be sent home to the father to help pay for mortgages. Also, there were long hours of work but the women got 3 meals a day and were able to have total independence from family or any other things they did not want before. A life like this could teach responsibility and it was good because it had a paycheck too. “Some used their wages to purchase pretty, store-bought clothes, while others sent money to their parents. Some saved for dowries and a few saved for education.“ The paycheck helped the girls learn responsibility. Things like wage cuts and strict overseers could bring be costly to coming to the mills because things like that can be very frustrating, however one other benefit was that the women could have life outside the mills, be independent, and receive education. Important hints like this would help the women to grow you and be strong individuals when they're done working the mills.

The farm girls had a great opportunity to work hard and help the family as well. It was like killing two birds with one stone. They would get money to pay for education and they would help their families pay for a mortgage. I think it was a great opportunity for a girl to learn responsibility and they had a great chance.