A little reading here, a little reading there.......

So, I've basically started reading a couple of the books that I got from the library on Friday. One that I'm focusing on tonight is "The Lowell Offering: Writings by New England Mill Women (1840-1845)." In this collection there are letters to home which describe first moments of walking into the mill, meeting other young women, and living in the close quarters of the boarding houses. I get more and more excited as I read on, but I know that I still have a lot more to learn and I definetly need to be putting this assignment at the top of my list.

I'm actually starting to put some of my thoughts down on to paper and I'm starting to take the advice that the "Craft of Research" gives us to narrow my topic down.

I've added a video thing to the top of my page. Hopefully it will keep only videos from the mills, but I'm not sure what will happen with it.

I hope all of you are doing well in your research!

Library Daze

Hey everyone!

I went to the MSU Main Library today and got a few books! When I went there I already searched online for some books. So, I found those and before I left I decided to take a look at some of the encyclopedias. Let me just say, I feel like it's so much easier to look up what your looking for then online. They also gave me some ideas for other searches.

So, if you haven't yet, take a look at the encyclopedias when you go to the Library!!!

Research of the Day!

After reading from the book "The Maya of Morganton" by Leon Fink, after today's class, and after learning about the Poultry Factory and the way that they process the chickens I wanted to search a little bit about the Boott Cotton Mill today. I am a very visual learner, so I sought assistance from YouTube.com! I then was able to find numerous videos of the machines that the women use to work with. Yay!!!!

Here's one I found:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTmYV3J5JU4&feature=player_embedded

The video is of the Mill Room at the Boott factory in Lowell, Mass. Notice how the machines are incredibly loud. What the Mill Girls would have to do is  stand at these looms for 12-14 hours a day, along with having to breath in the cotton that flew around the factory called the "White Hell" and they would have to worry about getting fingers, clothing, or hair stuck in the machines. More on what their duties were with the machines soon! I'm still gathering sources on that one....

"White Hell" example. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbiwINt3FlU&feature=related

This clip is from North and South (2004) by BBC and I remembered it from a History 202 last semester. It's a great example of the what it would have looked like in the mills. 

Bah! The more I find the more and more excited I get. I'm really at the stage where I'm starting to map out what I'm going to even write about in the paper. Such as, what topics I find are most valuable for my paper. 

After class today, I know I'm going to discuss:

*How the business began. (background information)

*Why the women came to work in the mills.

*If there were many immigrants that came to work in the Boott Cotton Mill specifically. 

*Working Conditions is going to be a strong point. 

*Living conditions

*Voices of Protest

*I really want to see how Men played a role in the Women's lives. There were men around, so I want to know how they treated the women. 

That's just some of the stuff I'm still thinking about, but I want to try and incorporate into my paper. 

Hopefully tomorrow if it's not raining too hard I'll get to the Library! If not I'll spend a little bit more time doing some initial research online. Later-gators! 

“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.” ~ Zora Neale Hurston

Right now, I'm just trying to learn the basics of the company and Lowell, Massachusetts before I even begin. Basics on the mill, the town, the set up, etc. But, what I'm concerned about is finding Primary Sources and, so, I've been spending most of my time exploring the resources available through MSU.
I'm very excited though because I found that the MSU Library holds a book of "The Lowell Offering" which is a periodical written by the women and for the women working in the mills at the time. Also, during my searches I've found various micro-form copies of the periodical. To tell the truth, secondary sources are not that difficult to find because whenever I search Women's Rights and "Lowell Mill Girls" together, there are always a couple books that appear.

As a back up plan, I've been reading a little bit on Lumber Camps in Northern Michigan. I grew up in Petoskey and have always learned about them in school or I've visited historical sites. So, I feel like that would be an interesting topic. The job was not easy and they got paid very little for how much physical stress was put on during the job. Also, many of the men had to stay away from home for months on end. It's just an option. I am pursing the Lowell Mill Girls though as my topic and I'm very excited.

Hopefully, I'll make it to the library soon with all my searches and find what I need. Tomorrow I'll write more of what basics I've found.

Late Night Comments

The Lowell “Mill Girls” where considered lowest on the food chain when they went to work in the mills. In Europe, it was considered horribly dangerous to a woman’s purity and virtue to work in the mills in Lowell, Massachusetts. But, because the women wanted to send a brother to college to get an education or because it was another opportunity to leave home and work “Mill Girls” went through the harsh criticism and worked extremely long hours in tremendously horrible conditions  to make just to make some money. This was the way of the “mill girls” for the longest time. These women lived, worked, and struggled together every day for months on end. Some were immigrants looking for opportunity and some were American farm girls looking to make some money.

Basically, I’m really starting to look into this specific topic of the Lowell "Mill Girls." I find this topic of the “Mill Girls” fascinating because they really began to pave the way for women’s rights by setting up news papers, protesting through "turn-outs" and strikes, and forming the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association. Also, suddenly there were jobs open to women that weren't only cleaning or sewing. Although it wasn’t the most sought after job in town, it was still a job that many flocked to because it allowed them to have some monetary freedom, even if they sent it all away to their brothers. 

What's also interesting is that because they had their own publishings there are some books that have written accounts from women working in the mills. I know I'm going to be reading a lot, but I can't wait! 






                      
Some of the girls working at the mill could've been as young as 10 and were usually as old as 26, but there were some women who were middle aged who worked in the mill.
This is an image of the mill in Lowell on a busy work day. The mill, although, is no longer operational is still a major feature of the city today. 

Some pics to go along with my first post.

 
Troy's Collar Workers in NY    Mill Girl in Lowell, Massachusetts

First Time Blogger!

Hello!

My name is Morgan and as of right now this is the first time I've ever opened and written on a blog! I’m a sophomore and I’m still exploring my options for a major within the College of Social Science. I’m trying to find the right fit for me and what I want to do with my life and it's turning out to be very difficult because there are so many awesome subjects to gain knowledge on. But, History seems to be the one subject that keeps drawing me closer to my decision. I've taken one history class which was last semester in the spring and I had history throughout high school as well! 

My favorite time periods that I find interesting range from pre-colonial to about World War Two in the United States and what really fascinates me within those time periods are the adventures and struggles that women went through constantly. Learning how they went on day by day fighting for their rights, learning how different women were treated over time in different communities in the U.S, learning about the women who went on to the battlefields during the first Wars of this country, and learning about the women who were the first to explore every part of this country is just so interesting to me.

 I'm looking forward to this project and already looking at ideas. See you in class!