Imagine yourself in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1840 where either you or a close family member works as a factory girl in the textile mill. Discuss what you (or your close family member) experience and see. Consider how technology has made the town distinct and if women affiliated with the mill were treated better or worse in society than their peers elsewhere.

Mills in Lowell had a mixed experience in the 1840s. The Lowell mills were principal to the industrial revolution, and with their success came two perspectives of the mills. For the majority of the women, work brought a feeling of freedom, higher education opportunities and independence. Unlike to most young women of that period, they were free from parents and could earn their own income. The women in the mill were...