Solomon Northrop was a free black man in the state of New York. He was tricked and captured to be sold as a slave. Solomon was born into freedom so he had never been a slave. A slave works from sun up to sun down or when he can see to when he can't. Sometimes when the moon was full they would not head in until early hours in the morning. Slaves were owned by white men. Slaves had literally no rights. Most of the time they were considered animals that had a lower thought process.

In the end mill girl and slaves had a lot in common. Neither had real rights. They both were treated terribly. Granted slaves were owned and mill girl were not it doesn't mean the weren't treated the same.

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However, unlike black slaves, the Lowell girls had somewhat nice living quarters. There were six girls to a room. They had to sleep three to a bed. They were also fed well, in order to keep up their strength. This was also another difference between the Lowell girls, and the slaves. In the eyes of slave holders the slaves were animals. Therefore the slave owners didn't really care if the slaves died. This gave the slave owners no initiative to feed the slaves nice food, or even much food at all. Some corn bread and water was about all the food they received when they got food. They were thankful when they caught and killed a small rodent. This was like Christmas to the slaves.

Another difference between the Lowell girls and slaves was the age group. The Lowell girls were anywhere from age 16-24. This was the 'prime' age forewomen to work in the factories. This was the age where their fingers were most nimble, and they could stand in one spot for many hours at a time. Where as, the slaves were used anywhere from age 6, as nurse maids for children. Too age 75 as house maids.

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Though they needed each other, they both had very different lives. The women had the choose of being there or not, I mean some had to be there for the support of their families, but they were not held there and forced to work and gets slashes for everything they did wrong. But they still got punished. 'In the eyes of her overseer she was but a brute, a slave to be beaten, pinched and pushed about.' In the quote, it says 'a slave to be beaten,' but they did not have it as hard as the slaves in the south did,'After weighing, follow the whippings;...'. This is just an exaggeration, but it doesn't leave my mind for a second not to think that the girls and women of the mills still got 'beat' around, not as aggressively as a slave master would have beat his slaves, but still they were most likely harmed. But through all this they still worked, and some of the women worked their tails off, just to give their wages to someone else. 'I have known more than one to give every cent of her wages, mouth after mouth, to her brother, that he might get the education necessary to enter some profession.' This brings up a major difference between the girls of the mill and the slaves, the girls got paid, not that it was much, but it was more than the slaves got. If they had a decent master, they ate, 'All that is allowed them is corn and bacon, which is given out at the corncrib and smoke- house every Sunday morning. Each one receives, as his weekly allowance, three and a half pounds of bacon, and corn enough to make a peck of meal.'.

One of the things that is similar of the slaves and the mill girls, is that they work from early morning to late at night. Then again, slaves have it worse than the girls do in this category also. 'The hands are required to be in the field as soon as it is light in the morning, with the exception of ten or fifteen minutes, which is given to them at noon to sallow their allowance of cold bacon.' This is similar to the mill girls 'The working hours of all the girls extended from five o'clock in the morning until seven in the evening with one halfhour (half hour) each, for breakfast and dinner.' This is how they are the same. Word count:483

Though they needed each other, they both had very different lives. The women had the choose of being there or not, I mean some had to be there for the support of their families, but they were not held there and forced to work and gets slashes for everything they did wrong. But they still got punished. 'In the eyes of her overseer she was but a brute, a slave to be beaten, pinched and pushed about.' In the quote, it says 'a slave to be beaten,' but they did not have it as hard as the slaves in the south did,'After weighing, follow the whippings;...'. This is just an exaggeration, but it doesn't leave my mind for a second not to think that the girls and women of the mills still got 'beat' around, not as aggressively as a slave master would have beat his slaves, but still they were most likely harmed. But through all this they still worked, and some of the women worked their tails off, just to give their wages to someone else. 'I have known more than one to give every cent of her wages, mouth after mouth, to her brother, that he might get the education necessary to enter some profession.' This brings up a major difference between the girls of the mill and the slaves, the girls got paid, not that it was much, but it was more than the slaves got. If they had a decent master, they ate, 'All that is allowed them is corn and bacon, which is given out at the corncrib and smoke- house every Sunday morning. Each one receives, as his weekly allowance, three and a half pounds of bacon, and corn enough to make a peck of meal.'.

One of the things that is similar of the slaves and the mill girls, is that they work from early morning to late at night. Then again, slaves have it worse than the girls do in this category also. 'The hands are required to be in the field as soon as it is light in the morning, with the exception of ten or fifteen minutes, which is given to them at noon to sallow their allowance of cold bacon.' This is similar to the mill girls 'The working hours of all the girls extended from five o'clock in the morning until seven in the evening with one halfhour (half hour) each, for breakfast and dinner.' This is how they are the same.

One of the groups of people who were working hard in the U.S were in the north. One group was called the Lowell Mill Girls. Some of the girls were very young and way to young to be working in the mills.

'Some were not even 10 years old;...'

They worked long hours in the factories everyday. They only had 3 breaks a day. Other than those breaks the only thing they did was worked. Most of the girls lived together also. I don't know how I would have liked that. I would think that they would get tired of each other but maybe they did and maybe they didn't. They never had time to spend with their families unless they lived with a family member.

'They worked 8-10 months a year, the rest of the time was spent with their families.'

These girls made money doing what they did. Mostly tending to machines.

The other type of worker that the U.S had during this time was the slaves. They produced crops on plantations in the south. They also worked all day everyday in the heat. The slaves had to reach a certain weight of cotton per day and if they did not reach their quota they were beaten.

'Most frequently they have to little, therefor they are not anxious to leave the fields.'

'The hands are required to be in the cotton field as soon as it is light, wight the exception of 10- 15 minute break for the day...'

Slaves were beat of they did wrong. They were also their because they were being forced to be there. Many of them were captured, brought to the U.S and sold in an auction to various slave owners. Some of the slave owners would have been a blessing for the slaves while others were nightmares for them. Some were treated fairly and some were treated unfairly. To most of the slaves it didn't bother them knowing that they were being the property of another person. The slaves were not taught to read nor were they wanted to be able to read by their masters. The slave owners feared that if they knew how to read then the would be better/more likely to escape. Slaves did not work for money like the mill girls, they worked to be alive. The slaves had different jobs also. The mill girls went to work everyday to do the same things. I would rather do different things from day to day but I would not want to be a slave.

Many people have a lot of different opinions/ideas about these two demanding jobs. I feel that they were both wrong. Nobody should have had to work the hours they did for the wages they had.

One source: Narritive on Solomon Northrup

Second source: Narrative on Lowell Mill Girls

Word Count: 529 words

Kacy Wilson no

Solomon was born a free black man who was kidnapped in New York by men and was to be sold as a slave. He was a slave for 12 years before the governor of New York came and freed him by showing the master his free papers. Solomon lived a hard life while he was a slave. He had to work from sun-up to sun-
down in the fields everyday. Solomon was not use to this kind of work everyday because before he was kidnapped he was a fiddler and a carpenter. Solomon had very strict rules when he was a slave. Such as: 'The hands are required to be in the cotton field as soon as it is light in the morning, and, with the exception of ten or fifteen minutes, which is given them at noon to swallow their allowance of cold bacon, they often times labor till the middle of the night. They do not dare to stop even at dinner time, nor return to the quarters, however late it be, until the order to halt is given by the driver.' 'The day's work over in the field, the baskets are 'toted,' or in other words, carried to the gin- house, where the cotton is weighed. No matter how fatigued and weary he may be- - no matter how much he longs for sleep and rest- - a slave never approaches the gin- house with his basket of cotton but with fear. If it falls short in weight- - if he has not performed the full task appointed him, he knows that he must suffer.'

Harriet Robinson's life is similar to Solomon's because Harriet grew up just like solomon did, in a small town where they could pick the work they wanted to do. She worked in a cotton factory with the mill girls when she was younger. 'At the time the Lowell cotton mills were started the caste of the factory girl was the lowest among the employments of women.' 'In the eyes of her overseer she was but a brute, a slave, to be beaten, pinched and pushed about. It was to overcome this prejudice that such high wages had been offered to women that they might be induced to become mill girls, in spite of the opprobrium that still clung to this degrading occupation.' Both solomon and Harriet were treated like a slave, even though Harriet wasn't a slave.

The differences between Harriet and solomon are that Harriet got paid for her work and solomon was forced to work.

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Mill girls and Slaves are a lot alike but are very different in the same way. In the 1800's the slaves would be put to work with no choice and no payment on the other hand mill girls got paid $2.00 a week. They are both similar and different in many ways.

Slaves and mill girls are very in similar in many ways. Some examples are they get to work from sun up to sun down. They are not treated fairly. Slaves get whipped with a whip and mill girls are pinched, pushed, and beaten. The slaves were born into slavery and the mills girls were to little to work in the factory. There were different ages, some as young as 10 years old. Slavery and mill girls was the greatest hardship that kids could go through. Slaves and mill girls both worked. Mill girls would work at a factory and would work the machines while slaves would be in the hot sun, cold winters, and raining springs.

Slaves and Mill girls have similarities but they also have differences. Some examples are mill girls get paid $2.00 for a week while slaves worked for no money. Slaves never had a good meal while mill girls got a meal at breakfast and dinner. Mill girls with houses generally worked from eight to ten months in the year, the rest of the time they spent with there family and friends. Slaves didn't have a family if they were lucky they may have gotten sold with their family. But most salves were separated from their loved ones. Slaves lived in horrible places while the mill girls got place to live that was in good condition. A life as a slave was horrible if you were a slave you worked until you either ran away or you died. When the mill girls worked, they worked 15 minutes of every hour while the slaves would be in the hot, cold, wet, and snowy weather working really hard. When the mill girls would work they would get a roof over there heads while they worked and slaves would work in horrible weather .

Mill girls and slaves are very similar and different at the same time. They both worked very hard and even as young children. Even though mill girls were treated a little better than slaves they were still treated bad. They both have similar life's and different lives.

409 words. By: Hannah Murphy

In the 1800's Eli Whitney created the cotton gin, which was a machine that removed the seeds from the cotton fibers. Because of this it automatically increased the production of cotton. Since the production of cotton increased and farmers needed more slaves, this also sky-rocketed slavery. This is where The Lowell Girls started.

Slaves and the Lowell Girls were similar because they both started at young ages. Also, they worked for about 15 hours every day. Both wouldn't receive dinner until dark or until they had finished there work.

However, they were also different. Most slaves were born into slavery, but Solomon wasn't. He '...was a free black show as kidnapped from New York and sold into slavery for twelve years.( Solomon's narrative)' Slaves mostly worked in the fields picking cotton. But in January they would cut wood, plough, gather corn, plant and much more. When the day was over they would weigh their cotton and if they didn't have a lot or didn't work hard enough they're master would whip them. 'After weighing, follow the whippings; and then the baskets are carried to the cotton house, and their contents stored away like hay...(Solomon's narrative)' they we're to go to bed and get up to eat and go to work, they would have no time for reading, or going outside to play like the Mill Girls. Slaves didn't even know how to read or write.

The Lowell Mill Girls would work in factories instead of the fields. They would also get paid depending on what they did, but mostly two dollars a week. ' The working hours of all the girls extended from five' o'clock in the morning till seven in the evening, with one halftone each,for breakfast and dinner(Harriet's autobiography).' They're overseer would even let them knit, read, or go outside. But slaves did not have that freedom. And they were able to be educated or educate others. Some taught school in the summer for fun.They had a pretty pleasant life compared to slaves. 'Several years later a tenuous law was passed , but not until long after some, of these doffers were old enough to appear before legislative (Harriet's autobiography).'

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There is very little difference between the mill girls and the slaves. Mill girls were treated fairly (most of the time) and they were paid very little for their work. The slaves on the other hand were abused on so many levels (Mental, Physical, Sexual, Etc.) and out of all of their hard work they didn't see a penny come out of it. Both were very dependent on each other, the slaves picked cotton that the master sold to the factories and the girls spun the cotton to sell to the public. 'The hands are required to be in the cotton field as soon as it is light in the morning . . . And when the moon is full, they often times labor till he middle of the night.' (Solomon Northrop). The Mill Girls had it much better though, but the work was very stressful, ' The working hours of all of the girls extended from five o'clock in the morning until seven in the evening, with one half hour each for breakfast and dinner' (Harriet Robinson). Both of these examples explain how both the slaves and the mill girls wake up early and go to bed late,with a little break time for eating. From the stories from Harriet Robinson and Solomon Northrop they share many differences and similarities. The Mill Girls feels like they were trapped like slaves, but slaves don't get a break until they eat and get some sleep (which depended on many different things). Some of the main differences are that slaves stay for life while Mill girls stay until there about 36, and even then they get to leave for about two months to see their family, but then they get shipped right back to the mills. In the end though they share very many similarities and are very little differences.

With the slaves having to work in the fields, and the mill girls working in the factories, there were little differences that kept them apart. The things a slave would have to go through were MUCH worse than a mill girl. The main difference would obviously be freedom. Mill girls were free to go after their 12 hour shifts, slaves were not. Slaves were forced to work sun up to sun down for six days a week. Mill girls could quit anytime they wanted to, they were not owned, they had nice living quarters, and they even got paid. On the other hand slaves were owned by other people. They could not just quit and walk out. If they even tried to run to freedom, they would be whipped until their bodies were covered in cuts and gashes. They could only dream of freedom. Sometimes their living conditions were inhumane, and they obviously did not get paid. The mill girls were respected as individuals, and treated as people. On the other hand, slaves were kept and treated like animals, and that's all they were ever looked at in the eyes of white people.

Believe it or not the mill girls and the slaves were actually some what similar. They had poor and dangerous working conditions, long working hours, and demanding jobs. It would be bad news for a mill girl if she were it ever get her dress or hair stuck in the machines. Their job could often been considered as life threatening. It wasn't rare for limbs to be ripped off in the machines. It was important to be cautious working in the factory. With the slaves, they also had poor working conditions. They would work outside in the hot sun from sun up to sun down. With overseers watching their every move. If they were to do something wrong, the overseer would pull out his whip and beat them for punishment. They both worked long and exhausting hours, and worked 6 days a week having Sunday off. As laborers, they both faced many difficult situations in their life, and it's important to realize what these people did to make our country the way it is today.

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There was also some differences between the two. The slaves and mill girls had different ways they would eat. Northrop said that they only received cold bacon. Robinson said, ' with one half-hour each, for breakfast and dinner' (Robinson). Also the money you got was completely different. As a slave, you basically worked so you could live. As a mill girl, you would anywhere from 50¢ to $1.00. Slaves also had to live in little makeshift huts, and sleep sometimes on the floor with no pillow or blanket. The mill girls had nice, small rooms to sleep in with a warm bed. The slave girls didn't have to worry about getting whipped for not doing their job.

Either way, both of these lives were horrible, with the slave working to just save his life, and with the mill girls working for barely any money at all. Although, I think the slaves were treated worse because they weren't allowed to stop to rest unless it was time to eat their cold bacon. The mill girls at least had a bed to sleep in and wouldn't get whipped just for doing something that wasn't their fault. Either way, both lives are horrible.

Clay Grider

408 words

Both slaves and mill workers were treated very unfairly. If I do say so, mill workers were just slaves with a very low pay. These people that were enslaved or worked in the mills were not far apart from each other though as in intensive work goes. Slaves and mills girls worked all day, there was high dangers in both slavery and factories, and they were not given any time at all to 'play around'.

Slavery and mill workers had their similarities. Though these two activities are not perfectly alike, they are similar. For example, from the Harriet Robinson narrative, Harriet says 'She was represented as subjected to influences that must destroy her purity and selfrespect. In the eyes of the overseer she was but a brute, a slave, to be beaten, pinched and pushed about.' In the previous quote it even says 'a slave'. These women that worked in the mills were very much treated like slaves. Also like slaves, the mill girls were subjected to long hours of work. Another quote from Harriet Robinson's narrative says 'The working hours of all the girls extended from five o'clock in the morning until seven in the evening, with one half hour each, for breakfast and dinner.' Also very much like slaves, women had no rights to own any property. The Harriet Robinson narrative confirms this statement by saying 'At this time women had no property rights.' The last similarity between the two groups (enslaved blacks and factory girls) is that in their job/enslavement they could not rest. In Solomon Northrup's narrative it says from a slaves perspective 'Then the fears and labors of another day begin; and until it's close there is no such thing as rest.' This is a hundred percent correct. Slaves were aloud zero time to 'goof off' and factory girls could only do certain activities if their overseer aloud them, which would rarely to never happen.

As there are similarities between two things, there are also differences. By this logic, there are also many differences in slavery. Reading from the Harriet Robinson narrative, you could have sworn that slavery and working in a factory were exactly the same thing. Reading Solomon Northrup's narrative, it ridicules Harriet Robinson's narrative by showing that slavery is far worse and has many more differences in it than if you were to be a factory girl. For an example of a difference, slaves were always terrified when their job was over. In Solomon Northrup's narrative it says 'No matter how fatigued and weary he may be- -no matter how much he longs for sleep and rest- -a slave never approaches the gin-house with his basket of cotton but with fear.' Not once in the excerpt from Harriet Robinson's narrative did it say that the the mill girls were terrified of approaching their place of work. As the time that the mill girls eat is limited, the portions of their food is not, unlike a slave. In Solomon Northrup's narrative, it states 'All that is allowed them is corn and bacon, which is given out at the corncrib and smoke- house every Sunday morning. Each one receives, as his weekly allowance, three and a half pounds of bacon, and corn enough to make a peck of a meal.' Another major difference is that the factory girls in spare time were allowed to do other activities. In the Harriet Robinson narrative it states 'When the overseer was kind they were allowed to read, knit, or go outside the millyard to play.' Another huge difference is that the mill girls were paid at least some money. In Robinson's narrative, she says 'They were paid two dollars a week.' The last diff ends I would like to point out in this essay is that the mill girls could go on 'strike without getting whipped or punished. In Robinson's narrative, it states 'One of the first strikes that ever took place in this country was in Lowell in 1836.'

In conclusion, there are many similarities between enslaved African Americans and the Lowell Mill girls. There are also many differences in between these two groups. What is important, is knowing that these two particular groups were treated extremely unfair. The best thing we can do about this, is make sure that we keep studying this crucial piece of American history and tell the generations after us. For if we do not know our history, it is bound to repeat itself.

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The Lowell mill girls had a easy life basically. I mean they were given breaks which other slaves didn't truly get breaks like they did. I'm not saying there life was like hours and was just truly easy, I mean there lives were easier then slaves out in the fields from sun up to sun down then finally would getting a break to go to sleep or have a little bit to eat. The Lowell mill girls had it easy because they were aloud to do a lot that other slaves would get beaten for or even possibly killed. They could basically even go on strike without getting beaten by slave owners.

There's a difference between a slave and a Female laborer. As soon as the sun came up a slaves arms had to be in the fields working, while a female working as a laborer only had to work a couple of hours from like 5 o'clock to 7 o'clock with a thirty inure break according to Harriet Jacobs book.

Now on to Harriet Jacobs and Solomon Northrop. Solomon Northrop was a true slave. He worked in the fields from day up to day down picking cotton and doing everything that a struggling slave had to do to not get whipped. Soloman stated in his book that if you failed to meet the requirements for a days work of picking cotton then you would get whipped. While females that worked in the house had it easier because they were basically working for a couple,of hours and being finished. So basically this is why I feel as if a slaves life was a lot worse then A female laborer.

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Solomon was a free African American. He had a decent job carpeting and playing the fiddle on big occasions. One night, two older white men asked Solomon to go toWashington DC for a fiddling job. They took him out for dinner but Solomon wasn't feeling good so the gentlemen took him home and cleaned up while Solomon was passing out. The next morning Solomon woke up I'm a dark room chained to the ground. Solomon was screaming for help while a gentlemen was asking him for his free papers and he didn't have them. Solomon was taken to a slave auction where they changed his name to plat. He was sold to a slave owner in the Deep South. Because Solomon was already free he knew how to read and write. He didn't tell his owners this because they would be afraid of him and give him unfair punishments. There was a white man that worked on the plantation as a helping hand. Solomon wrote him a letter for him to give to the post of five so it can be sent to New York where Solomon is from. One day Solomon was working in the field when the governor of New York took him from the plantation mad brought him back home to his family in New York. Solomon spent 12 years as a slave and took the two men who sold him into slavery but the case was dropped because I black man couldn't take a whit man to court.

In Harriet Robinsons story she wasn't a slave and never became one. Harriet was a female factory worker at the Lowell industry. At the age of ten in 1834 -1848 In Lowell Massachusetts. In 1832 five corporations were started, the cotton mills belonging to them were building. The more factories that were building the more people they needed to work and that means more cotton was being made and picked and order for you to have more cotton picked you needed more slaves to do the labor. Harriet Robinson worked with the Lowell girls since she was ten. The factory was threatening to cut their wages but Harriet wasn't going to receive lower wages she doesn't make enough as it is. In 1836 Harriet and the Lowell girls went in strike. They ended up keeping there wages. They also went on strike for shortening their working hours but they kept their same 12 hour days. The difference between Harriet's work and Solomon's was working in a field and working in a factory.

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By themselves, the mill girls seemed to be going to the mills only for the white men. They typically went to get jobs, the lowest ranked jobs, at the mills because they were hoping to send a man in their family off to college, so that he could later make money. Hardly anything was spent towards any other possible causes. Even better, the women themselves were on paid 2/5 of the money that a man would make. Why? Because they were women. However, the slaves were on a different end of the bargain. Slaves worked hard jobs, out in the fields or in the house, and most of them worked for no pay, no matter if they were a woman or a man. But some certain slave owners allowed their slaves to leave the plantations to take on jobs that could be found within the town.But even though they did let their slaves have the freedom to earn any money, most slave owners would take a large portion or all of the money that they earned doing the jobs.

The two groups were also similar in quite a few different ways. The main one that I seem to find funny, is that they were both put in that situation by the same group of people, the white man. Women mainly took the jobs in the factories so that they could earn the money to send a white male in their household to college. Slaves were brought overseas to America by white men to be sold to white men, and to eventually be sold to another white man, and to be enslaved by the same group of white men.

Another similarity was how dangerous the work that they did was. For example, cotton picking. If a slave returned to the gin house with under 50 pounds of cotton, then he would expect to be whipped. If a slave returned to the gin house with over 50 pounds of cotton, then they would have to do the same the next day. And if they failed to do so, then they would most likely be whipped. It was not uncommon for slaves to be whipped to their death. For the Mill girls, it was a different kind of danger. They had to wear tight fitting clothes and keep their hair tied back or short. Why, you may wonder? Because if they didn't, they risked the chance of getting sucked into one of the dangerous machines around them. After that, they might possibly lose or break a limb, maybe even their own life.

One more similarity is how and where they lived. Both groups lived in confined areas that had specific curfews for them. The houses were also only limited to having four people. There wasn't much of a difference there.

Anyways, the mill girls were treated with not much more respect than the slaves were. They were put in mostly the same situations, even though they were as different as night and day,

word Count 546

During the 1800's, labor work was very brutal and rough for both slaves and mill girls. They were bother treated poorly, even though slaves were treated a lot worse than most women. Slaves and mill girls and many similarities and many differences.

Both mill girls and slaves were discriminated during this time. Some things they had in common were starting labor work at young ages. Mill girls started as early as ten years old and slave started started as early as possible. Also, they both would work for long hours. Slaves and mill girls worked for a long time and got little breaks. Another way that slaves and mill girls were treated the same, was they were both abused. Slaves were whipped, branded and even killed. Now, even though mill girls weren't branded or murdered, they were still whipped with leather belts and punished if they did not behave or worked slow.

Slaves and mill girls were very different from each other, however, for many reasons. One being the girls were paid. Yes, they worked for long hours like the slaves, but at least they were paid, even though they weren't paid very much at all. They only made about two dollars a week. Also, slaves worked everyday of the week, where mill girls worked six of the seven days a week. The slaves also worked longer hours than the mill girls. They would work from around five o'clock in the morning to seven o'clock at night. If there was a full moon, they might work even later. Plus, the girls got a break during the summer and the slaves worked all year 'round. Another reason, is that the girls had a choice to work or not. However some of them had to so that they could help support their families. Slaves were forced into labor work. Even the free slaves that rightfully earned their freedom could be kidnapped and taken into slavery and there wouldn't be anything they could say or do about it. Unless, like Solomon Northrup, they somehow got a letter back home to inform their family so they could come rescue them. Also, the girls were treated a lot better because they were fed better and had beds to sleep in. Another major reason that they were different was that slaves were owned and mill girls were not. They slaves were treated as if they were animals. Also, the mill girls weren't sold off in auctions like the slaves. The slaves had it pretty rough. A lot worse than the mill girls, but the mill girls were still treated pretty poorly.

So both slaves and mill girls were not treated treated very well and were both discriminated. The slaves had it pretty rough. They were treated a lot worse than the mill girls, but the mill girls were still treated pretty poorly. It was a very brutal time for both slaves and mill girls.

Word count: 497

Life as a slave was never ending. You were a slave until the day you died. If you didn't die as a slave, you either were a runaway or you were freed by your master. They didn't get any days off. Mill girls were not held and forced to work against there will. They were granted a couple months off of work each year. I don't believe that the women's pay was right. It was kind of stupid to make these women work for hours on end 6 days a week just to get a small pay of somewhere between 40 to 80 cents per day. They were practically worked like slaves for that time. This is like slavery in many ways. A slave could get punished if they misbehaved their masters orders. Same with the Lowell girls. That may have been the only way their punishment could have been alike. Slaves could get whipped, branded, and even murdered if they acted up. Lowell girls could receive other punishments like not being able to go do what they please.

Solomon Northrup was a free black who was kidnapped in New York and sold into slavery for twelve years. He is saying that people took away the freedom he rightfully had, this is like going to work for the mills. They had almost no freedoms when they were working in the mills. He had to work in the fields and pick cotton. Picking Colton by hand is a hard thing to do. Solomon had to wake up once the sun came up, or when they could see to start working. He would work all day nonstop, slaves couldn't even stop to rest or to eat. He would be done working once he couldn't see, which sometimes this would be late into the night if it was a full moon.

Harriet Robinson was a lowell women working in a factory. She worked in a factory from 1832 to 1848. the majority were between the ages of sixteen and twenty five. This is like most of the slaves. Many of the slaves were young and hardworking like the Lowell Mill girls.

Slaves had no choice when forced to work. Although mill girls weren't forced to come and work everyday. 'The slaves are required to be in the cotton field as soon as it is light in the morning, and, with he exception of ten or fifteen minutes, which is given them at noon to swallow their allowance of cold bacon, they are not permitted to be a moment idle until it is too dark to see, and when the moon is full, they often times labor till the middle of the night.' Slaves would work from sun up to sun down in the boiling heat with little food and break time. They were allowed to eat cold bacon, which is disgusting to eat especially on a hot day of work. 'All that is allowed them is corn and bacon, which is given out at the corn crib and smoke house every Sunday morning.' Slaves weren't paid like the mill girls. Instead, they were given unbearable food and a poor a living area.

Slaves had a terrible and horrifying life, but the mill girls didn't have such a bright life either. Lowell, Massachusetts was considered to be a factory village from the 1830s to the 1840s. Women and young girls came from everywhere in the United States to come work at these cotton mills.' We can hardly realize what a change the cotton factory made in the status of the working women.' These working women were tirelessly working day in and day out. And only for a small portion of money. Most of the mill girls had to go door to door after work to find more work. Since here mill girls weren't paid properly, they did go on strikes. Lowell, Massachusetts actually had one of the very first strikes in the United States. 'At this time women had no property rights.' Women were degraded at this time. They were treated for less than what they really were. Not only did they not have property rights, but they couldn't even manage their own money without a man's help. Their rights were very limited at the time. Men basically owned women at this time because their rights were very limited.

While mill girls had a hard life, slaves had the worser of the two. The slaves had to work all day in the boiling sun with no pay and hardly any food. Not only did the slaves have bad jobs, but the women would even be raped by their slave masters and that was considered acceptable.The families of slaves would be torn apart during the slave auctions. The mill girls could at least get paid and see their families. It is hard to believe that America the home of the free could allow this to take place on its soil.

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Chandler LaMott

In the early 1800's slavery was a popular sight in the south. Many plantation owners had slaves, and treated them as if they were animals. They were forced to work all day, and partially into the night. They worked hard all day and did not receive any or a few cents of pay. This is also very much like the Lowell Mill girls. They were forced to work 5:00 in the morning until 7:00 at night. They were payed little for their work, but they received a decent amount of food and were still given a bed to sleep on. Many were women earning money for their families to survive. They worked six of the seven days in a week unlike slaves. Mill girls were treated with respect but yet were still looked down upon for the horrible job they had.

The Lowell Mill girls were also given breaks during the summer to go home. No slave was given this opportunity. Lowell Mill girls also had the right to go on strike without being killed or beaten, like a slave would have been. Although the girls had more freedom and were more respected than slaves, they both had hard working conditions. In the mills there was open leather belts and wheels, and slaves were whipped if they did something wrong and they could get heatstroke.

In Solomon passage he states that, 'Solomon Northrup was a free black who was kidnapped in New York and sold into slavery for twelve years.' He is saying that people took away the freedom he rightfully had, this is like going to work for the mills. They had almost no freedoms when they working in the mills. Also Solomon Northrup says that, 'He was finally returned to freedom through the efforts of New York's governor.' He was only able to get out of slavery after seven years from sending a letter to his wife and the Governor of New York, where he lived before he was kidnapped and put into slavery. This is very much like the Lowell girls, once they worked their it was like they were kidnapped into slavery and only the summer break could get them out.

Harriet Robinson was a Lowell girl that wrote bout her experience at the mills. She said, 'At the time the Lowell cotton mills were started the caste of the factory girl was the lowest among the employments of women.' They were the least respected of the woman work force, even below housewives. She also said that, 'Some were not over ten years old; a few were in middle life, but the majority were between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five.' This is very much like most if the slaves. Many of the slaves were young and hardworking like the Lowell Mill girls.

Slaves are very much alike the Lowell Mill girls, they both worked in poor conditions and were treated poorly. Although the girls got money, they were still the lowest class of women according to society.

508 Words

In many ways slaves and mill girls were similar, however they were also vastly different. They both lived far apart, yet they were both close to each other figuratively. The lives of slaves and mill girls were both unique in their own way.

the similarities between the mill girls and slaves were plenty. Both the slaves and mill girls had overseers. Both the mill girls and the slaves had to live in less than favorable conditions, both worked tirelessly everyday, and both the slaves and the mill girls had to sleep in crowded spaces with very little sleep. The living space was not bearable for both the slaves and the women. The mill girls and slaves lived in different living spaces, but both were still not normal living conditions. Both the slaves and the women were thought of as less than men in society. 'A woman was not supposed to be capable of spending her own, or using other people's money.in Massachusetts, before 1840, a woman, could not, legally, be the treasurer of her own sewing society, unless some man was responsible for her. The law took no cognizance that a woman was a moneyspender. She was a ward, an appendage, a relic.'

the differences between slaves and mill girls were plentiful too. The overseers were very different in the way they acted towards each group of people. 'These mites worked about fifteen minutes every hour and the rest of the time was their own. 'When the overseer was kind they were allowed to read, knit, or go out to the mill yard to play.' This excerpt perfectly sums up the way the overseer treated the women that worked at the mills. The overseers treated the slaves much worse than the mill girls. The overseers did not think of the slaves as people, like they did the women of the mills. Another major difference between slaves and the mill girls is that the mill girls had work hours and got pay, slaves normally did not earn any money in their lives. Another big difference in the lives of slaves and mill girls is that slaves had to pick he various crops (mostly cotton), and do household chores. 'The days work over in the field, the baskets are 'toted', or in other words carried to the gin-house, where the cotton is weighed. No matter how fatigued or weary he may be no matter how much he longs for sleep and rest a slave never approaches the gin house with his basket of cotton but with fear. If it falls short in weight, if he has not performed the full task he was appointed with, he knows he must suffer.' Another major difference that I am going to explain is the difference between the mill girls and the slaves schedules. The slaves worked hard long hours with little brake. The mill girls worked 10-14 hour shifts. The major difference is hrs the slaves worked year round, but the mill girls got a summer off to spend with their families. The women also were fed better than the slaves. 'All that is allowed them is corn and bacon, which is given out at the corncrib and smokehouse every Sunday morning. Each one receives as his weekly allowance, three and a half pounds of bacon, and corn enough to make a peck of meal.'

in conclusion the slaves had a lot more rougher life than the mill girls. They both had many similarities, but the differences outstayed the similarities, when it came to the slaves and mill girls. 597 words

There were similarities and differences in these jobs. They both required long hours of work and cruel treatment. In the factories or mills, the people working had someone watching over them and were required to work constantly unless you were a small child. ' the working hours of all the girls extended from 5 o'clock in the morning until seven in the evening, with one half hour each, for breakfast and dinner' this quote explains the long hours of labor required in the factories at the time. The overseer could yell or push them to get them to do what the workers were supposed to do. The factories were also dangerous because of the spinning and running machines all around. The workers had to be careful were they were walking and had to watch so they wouldn't get hurt. The same things in the cotton fields hale next I slaves. They also had an overseer who looked after them whenever they were working and sometimes even at night. This overseer could yell and could even whip the slaves if they weren't doing what they were supposed to be doing in the fields. The slaves also had to work constantly. They had long intense hours of labor and if they didn't complete their jobs, they could get in serious trouble. Life in the fields was also dangerous. The slaves were forced to work under bad conditions. The heat was intense in the summer and some of the slaves fainted while working the field. They were also barefoot and could step on rocks or sharp things and injure themselves. 'Then the fears and labors of another day begin; and until it's close there is no such thing as rest'. This quote explains the exhausting hours slaves were put through and how hard it was for them. (287)

There were also differences in the two different jobs. The girls working in the factories were payed to do their job. They were barely payed anything but they were payed. 'Her labor could command but small return'. This is what the women in the factories felt like. They were working hard and almost got nothing in return. For every dollar a man made for working, a women got only 40 cents! The slaves however were payed nothing at all. The only things they were given was barely enough food to survive on and a place to sleep. 'An hour before daylight the Joni s blown'. The master wanted the slaves out and working before the sun even rose so they could get a full days work in. The slaves worked until sundown and sometimes when the move was full, they would work into the night. The slaves never felt rested because they were always going with just a few hours if sleep. Another difference was that the girls in the mill signed up to do their job and weren't sold or bought into it. The slaves were forced to do their jobs for nothing. The mill girls did their jobs for their families. They had a choice in what they wanted to do to make the money. (213)

Both the slaves and the mill girls had it hard but overall, I think the slaves had it harder. The slaves never got paid and were physically hurt when they didn't obey. They were in much more danger than the mill girls were. Both jobs were hard and tedious but slaves had hard lives.

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America is not somewhere I would have liked to live back in the 1800's. It included many years of suffering and unfairness to not only African American slaves and free men alike, but also to women. In this time, African Americans and women were treated very similar. Of course, African Americans were probably treated worse than most women, but some people don't know that life as a woman in that time period could be just as hard.

Life as a slave was exhausting, and so was life as a mill girl. They both got up at extremely early hours to start working, and had long exhausting work hours with barely any breaks. Mill girls were at work at 5:00 a.m., and only got a 30 minute break for each breakfast and dinner. 'The working hours of all the girls extended from five o'clock in the morning until seven in the evening, with one halfhour each, for breakfast and dinner.'(Boston: Wright & Potter, 1883) Slaves were up by daybreak to start their work in the cotton fields, and they only got a 10-15 minute break for lunch.'The hands are required to be in the cotton field as soon as it is light in the morning, and, with the exception of ten or fifteen minutes, which is given them at noon to swallow their allowance of cold bacon, they are not permitted to be a moment idle until it is too dark to see, and when the moon is full, they often times labor till the middle of the night.'(Auburn, N.Y., 1853) Both slaves and mill girls were treated unfairly and disrespectfully. In the eyes of both their overseers, they were all slaves. Slaves, that they weren't afraid to beat and punish. Both slaves and some mill girls were beaten. Some mill girls were beaten to destroy their self respect and purity. 'She was represented as subjected to influences that must destroy her purity and selfrespect. In the eyes of her overseer she was but a brute, a slave, to be beaten, pinched and pushed about.'(Boston: Wright & Potter, 1883) Slaves were beaten because their masters wanted them to be afraid of them. They suffered no matter how well or how bad they did a task. 'If it falls short in weight- - if he had not performed the full task appointed him, he knows that he must suffer. And if he had exceeded it by ten or twenty pounds, in all probability his master will measure the next day's task accordingly. So, whether he had two little or too much, his approach to the gin- house is always with fear and trembling.'(Auburn, N.Y., 1853) Another similarity between slaves and mill girls is that they both work at young ages. Mill girls can be as young as 10 years old and still be able to work. Since they are young they get more time do to what they want during the day, but they still have the same hours as a full grown mill girl. 'Even the doffers were forced to be on duty nearly fourteen hours a day.' 'The early millgirls were of different ages. Some were not over ten years old; a few were in middle life, but the majority were between the ages of sixteen and twentyfive.'(Boston: Wright & Potter, 1883) Slaves could be born into slavery. It didn't matter how old they were to anyone. They probably got lighter work than grown slaves, but they were still put to work and punished if they didn't do it right.

Life as a slave was never ending. You were a slave until the day you died. If you didn't die as a slave, you either were a runaway or you were freed by your master. They didn't get any days off. Mill girls were not held and forced to work against there will. They were granted a couple months off of work each year. 'Those of the millgirls who had homes generally worked from eight to ten months in the year; the rest of the time was spent with parents or friends.'(Boston: Wright & Potter, 1883) Even though both slave and mill girls did work, only mill girls were paid. Slaves were not paid for the hard work they did. They were paid in the form of food, but they weren't even given an appropriate amount. They were given barely enough to live on. 'All that is allowed them is corn and bacon, which is given out at the corncrib and smoke- house every Sunday morning. Each one receives, as his weekly allowance, three and a half pounds of bacon, and corn enough to make a peck of meal.'(Auburn, N.Y., 1853) Mill girls were paid for their work in the factories. Though they were paid, they were not paid a lot. In fact, they were paid less than a man was for doing the same job. 'Her labor could command but small return. If she worked out as a servant, or 'help,' her wages were from 50 cents to $1.00 a week; or, if she went from house to house by the day to spin and weave, or do tailoress work, she could get but 75 cents a week and her meals.'(Boston: Wright & Potter, 1883)

Slaves and mill girls had many similarities as well as differences. They were both treaty unequally and unfairly in America. I don't think anyone would want the difficult life they had. As Americans we need to recognize these men and women, and honor them for their work in our country. America wouldn't be where it is today if it weren't for them. We didn't deserve their hard work, sweat, and tears, but we can't change our past. What they went through should be recognized and honored by us every single day of our lives.

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These people, slaves and women, are similar because both worked long hours each day, usually up to 14 hours a day. Both did not like their work, and both started at a young age.

Slaves how ever are much different, because unlike the white women, they did not get paid even a penny for their work. The slaves worked all the way into the night and if on a full moon even later. Picking cotton, feeding animals and splitting wood. (Excerpt from a Solomon Northrop reading.) The slaves had no choice in when they worked, or if they could quit. The slaves were beaten if they did not listen or if they did not do their work for the day at a quick enough pace. And if they were caught running away, they may have been beaten to within an inch of their life, or worse. Sometimes the slaves were beaten so bad and so often that their bodies couldn't handle it anymore and they just died. The slaves were treated much worse than the Lowell girls. Compared to the slave the Lowell girls had it easy.

The Lowell girls did have it pretty rough, too. But these people had the choice to work, and they only did it to help their families. They also worked 14 hour days, until a law was set in place that they could only work 10 hour days. But at least they got paid for it. Even though it was not much. It was .40 cents to every one dollar a man earned. Sometimes they only earned two dollars a week, but every penny helped their family. They also couldn't be whipped, because it was common sense that if you wanted your paid workers to keep working you really should not hit them with a whip for hours on end.

So yes the slaves and the Lowell girls both had it rough. But when it comes down to it the slaves had it much harder. Because they did not get paid and the got beaten.

Gavin Chorrushi, 446 words.

There were many differences are far as the slaves, and the working women. Neither one of their positions was right though. I do think though the women should understand that the slaves were a little bigger deal than them though. They were striking at items when the US was focused on the slavey issue. You never know without all of the bickering from the women slavery could have been abolished sooner, and I think the women should have understood that. I do understand why they were mad though, but honestly they didn't really have to work if they thought it was so unfair. It seems like they kind of put them selves into their own position. Slaves on the other hand didn't have a choice. They were forced to work, and they got no pay at all. The women even though their pay was next to nothing they were still paid, and got full meals. Slaves were given a weekly allowance of small portions of bacon, and corn.

I do not believe though that the women's pay was correct. It was kind of dumb to make these women work for hours on end 6 days a week just to get a small pay of somewhere between 40 to 80 cents per day. They did have to work like slaves it seems. The only difference was that they got more breaks, and were not yelled at. They were treated like humans unlike slaves. Slaves were literally treated like livestock. The only difference between slaves and livestock is that slaves were sold and bought for more money. The white people didn't think they even had feelings. That is really messed up, and that is one reason that white women working in factories should have thought about how much better quality of life they lived. They should be happy that they were not born into slavery. They chose to be in their form of 'slavery'. One huge thing too is that they were not split up form their families. Slaves were just broken up from their families and sold to other plantation owners. You don't see any white women getting broken up from their family's and getting shipped off to factories. The slaves were beaten also. White women that worked in factories didn't get whipped or beaten. Another huge difference is that they could quit. Slaves couldn't just say I quiet to their owner and leave. If they could I don't think that there would be any slavery in the world if that was the case.

So in conclusion women did have an issue, but they should not have complained about their position. They were very fortunate to even be white at the time. I do think though they should have had as many rights as men did at the time, but luckily that has changed. Also blacks were going through a much harder time than whites. Even free blacks. They were never really accepted into society even if they were free. Some of the free blacks were even captured and illegally sold to slave owners. Whites didn't have to worry about that. Just face it society then was really screwed up then. Even more than today, and I believe the women should have understood that. If it was the opposite way, and women were 'better' in society I think I still would have understood that blacks were getting beat to death while all that was happening to me was I was working for small pay for long hours, and I had a choice to quite.

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