FF8 - Industrial Revolution and Lowell Mill Girls

How did technological improvements in the early 1800s influence American manufacturing?

• A. The use of child labor in manufacturing decreased.

• B. New machines produced goods more quickly and cheaply.

• C. Fewer people worked in manufacturing because of new machines.

• D. Skilled craftsmen used new tools to make more handmade goods than factories could produce.

The passage below is from a newspaper advertisement in the early 1800s.

 

“Do you know a family of children, girls or boys, from 7 to 12 years of age, with a parent or parents not in well-off circumstances?  A widow would be preferred.  They are to live near one of our cotton mills, so that the children may work in them and the parents may perhaps be employed.”

 

Based on the passage, which conclusion can be drawn?

•  

   A.  New American industries depended on immigrant families to work in

        their factories.

   

• B.  Factories needed workers so badly they provided childcare so that

       parents could work.

• C.  Parents were encouraged to work so that their children could attend

       school near the factory.

• D.  Factory owners preferred to employ children so they could pay them a

        lower wage than adults.

What was one major complaint of Lowell Mill workers?

• A. They were not allowed to go home on weekends.

• B. The mills did not produce enough cotton.

• C. The working conditions were harsh, with long hours and low pay.

• D. They had too much free time and not enough work.

What was the negative effect of the Industrial Revolution?

• A. A decline in available goods.

• B. Poor working conditions and child labor.

• C. A return to an agrarian economy.

• D. A decrease in urban populations.

The Venn diagram below compares features of the Rhode Island System and Lowell System. Which feature completes the diagram?

• A. Recruited children as factory workers.

• B. Recruited young men as factory workers.

• C.  Recruited young women as factory workers.

• D.  Recruited older men and women as factory workers.