Power to the Girls

Many girls were motivated to work in the mills to support their families and to be in the city. They were forced to do difficult work and were treated poorly; that is, until the "Lowell Experiment" began. It was a way to convince more girls to come work in the mills (and parents to let their children work in the mills) by avoiding the negative aspects of mill work. A paternal system was put in place, with the corporation as a father figure and the boardinghouse keeper as the mother figure. This ensured the young girls would be protected.

Lowell Experiment pictures and book

There were many benefits as well as costs when a girl was making the decision to work in the mills. They were fed, had a place to live, got an education, and had time to be social; however, they had to leave their families, they weren't paid enough (which led to strikes), they lived with strangers, the work was dangerous and they weren't compensated, the overseers were strict and the owners weren't there to control them, there were crowded quarters, there was a risk of not getting married if they stayed in the mills, and if they lost their job they would be blacklisted.
Women usually worked in the homes during the 1800s. Seeing them in the mills was a huge change in the work force. The mill girls changed the perspective everyone had on women, proving that they could work outside of the home, especially away from their parents. They also changed everyone's view on them by writing and being educated, eventually becoming abolitionists and women's rights activists.