Women March in Lowell

"Massachusetts shoemakers' strike, 1860." There are no pictures of the Lowell strike. This engraving from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper is the first known picture of an American strike, (showing women shoeworkers demonstrating in the streets of Lynn, Massachusetts, on March 7, 1860). Why were observers amazed by the Lowell strikes? Does this picture look like strikes you've seen? How is it different?

The prospect of expanded economic and social opportunities that attracted Yankee women to Lowell eventually brought them into conflict with the mill owners. When owners cut wages and tried to increase production in the mid-1830s, the young women went on strike, much to the amazement of observers and mill owners.

The first Lowell "turn-out", or strike, took place in 1834, when owners announced a 15% wage cut. Lowell women were angered not only by the loss of income, but also the threat to their vision of increased independence. 800 women walked out in protest, and held a march through the center of Lowell. However, the owners quickly recruited replacements from the surrounding countryside, and the strike was defeated.

Two years later, in 1836, when the owner tried to force the women to pay higher prices for room and board, the women turned out again. This time because they were more experienced, the women were better organized and more successful. Strike leaders realized that by shutting down certain key floors of the factory, they could bring an entire mill to a halt. After several weeks, most owners conceded defeat and re-adjusted the boarding rates.

The strong bonds of friendship and community created in the mills and boarding houses united the women and made the strikes possible.

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