Reference no: EM133283867

Assignment:

History of the Us

Factory Life in the Antebellum Era

In the first half of the 19th century, an emerging industrial order brought with it the factory town. Located primarily in the Northeast, factory towns represented a fundamental shift in the way goods were produced and who produced them. Such dramatic change forced Americans to have to reconcile traditional values with new realities. For example, how would a traditional, patriarchal society absorb and cope with the introduction of young women into the labor force, as was the case at the Lowell factory in Massachusetts? Additionally, how would the experience of factory work change the attitudes and social expectations of the women who participated in it?

Answer the following questions:

1. What do these prints suggest about the nature of factory life? How are these images meant to fit the traditional values most Americans held at the time?

2. Are the Factory rules intended for an audience beyond those living and working at Lowell? If so, who?

3. Finally, is Baker's overall impression of life in Lowell positive or negative? And, how does she define freedom for women?