The lives of a slave and a mill girl in the 1800s were very similar and very different. What some things their lives had in common were they both had been slaved into working all day and waking up early in the morning to work all day long, following rules of their masters for at least their whole life. They were both enslaved with a master, and sometimes even got treated the same way, they all lived together with the other slaves/mill girls, they both had a chance to get an education but to slaves it was hard for them to get someone to teach and sometimes it was really all they wanted.

The differences between Solomon north up and Harriet Robinsons life were the slaves didn't get the chance to get paid for the work they did, while mill girls got the chance to get paid two dollars a week. The mill girls worked from five in the morning to seven in the afternoon then go back to their headquarters and eat dinner, while slaves worked until their masters said they could stop and they didn't get that great of meals or no meals at all. The girls working at the mill, over the summer, got to go back home for awhile and visit family while slaves never got to see family. Some Slave masters didn't want the slaves to have an education so they never taught hem how to read or write, mill girls were offered an education and paid through their working money.

Harriet Robinson '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. A few taught school during the summer months. Their life in the factory was made pleasant to them. In those days there was no need of advocating the doctrine of the proper relation between employer and employed. Help was too valuable to be ill- treated....'

Solomon Northrup 'An hour before day light the horn is blown. Then the slaves arouse, prepare their breakfast, fill a gourd with water, in another deposit their dinner of cold bacon and corn cake, and hurry to the field again. It is an offense invariably followed by a flogging, to be found at the quarters after daybreak. Then the fears and labors of another day begin; and until its close there is no such thing as rest....'

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Also, slaves had to put up with the snide remarks of their overseer and master, no talking back and no defending yourself, they just had to keep working. Slaves were not paid to deal with the ridicule, whereas mill-girls were. In Harriet Robinson's writing, she says that 'She was represented as subjected to influences that must destroy her purity and self-respect. In the eyes if 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 a mill girl, in spite of the opprobrium that still clung to this degrading occupation...' In extreme cases, mill-girls who were fed up with the judgement could always quit, but they needed the money. Instead they went on strike. The punishment for mill girls was not execution or beatings, they either got what they want or were criticized by men and 'high class' women.

Despite these differences, slaves and mill-girls also had their similarities. Neither a slave nor a mill-girl could spend money, unless a slave was fortunate enough to be paid every once in a while. Slaves were not usually given money, so they had none to spend, but mill-girls were paid. In the words of Harriet Robinson, 'A woman was not supposed to be capable of spending her own, or of 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 were responsible for her. The law took no cognizance of woman as a money spender. She was a ward, an appendage, a relict.' In this way, slave men actually had more justice than mill-girls, for—if lucky enough—he was capable of spending the money his master gave him. Mill-girls had to save it for the men. That's all they got to do: save, save, save. Whether the money goes to the woman's son or brother is up to her, but it did not go to the woman. There is never too much work for mill-girls and slaves. It is a vicious cycle for them, work all day, cater to your masters kris husbands at night, and as Solomon Northrup said, 'The fears and labors of another day begin; and until it's close, there is no such thing as rest...'

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Kylinn DePalma

Another similarity was that they both had an overseer, but he power of the overseer was different between the two. The overseer in the mills can only yell at them or fire them, they cannot abuse the girls in public. The overseer for slaves however, is a completely different story, they can whip their slaves until there is a pool of blood beneath their feet right in front of everyone, and there isn't anything that anyone can do about it. One major difference between the mills and slavery is of course, the fact that the mill girls work for money, and the slaves worked because they were forced to and didn't have any other choice. 'If she worked out as servant, or 'help,' her wages were from 50 cents to 1.00 dollar a week; or, if she went from house to house but he day to spin and weave, or do tailoress work, she could get about 75 vents a week and her meals' (Harriet Robinson paragraph 8). 'Each one receives as his weekly allowance, three and a half pounds of bacon, and corn enough to make a peck of meal' (Solomon Northrop 1853 paragraph 3). Another difference was that slaves could be whipped if they didn't perform as they were supposed to, mill girls were punished by either being yelled at or being fired. Mills and slavery had many differences and similarities, but there is no doubt in my kind that slavery was worse than being in the mills. Mills were the closest thing to slavery at the time though, the mill girls just had much more freedom than slaves. They were put under very poor working conditions, and the places were they slept were even worse, back in the 1800s was a bad time to be around in my opinion.

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Gabbi Randall

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Being a slave, and being a mill girl were very different. Slaves didn't get paid for their hard work, unlike mill girls did. Mill girls got paid two dollars per hour. Slaves rewards of their hard work was having dinner. A similarity for both a slave and mill girl is they both got paid with something, slaves got paid with a half pound of cold bacon and little corn, mill girls got paid money. Slaves did not have work hours, they were told to work as soon as it was light, till it's too dark to see in the fields. '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.' Slaves did not get to take any breaks, definitely not to eat. There were slaves and mill girls from any age groups. There were children younger than ten years old, but most mill girls were between the age of sixteen and twenty-five. Mill girls only worked from eight to ten months in an year, the rest of the time was spent on family and friends. Slaves had to work all day, everyday and didn't get time to hang with friends or family. If a slave did not do what their masters told them to, they'd get punished by getting whipped or even death, mill girls didn't get that kind of harsh punishment. Slaves and mill girls were similar because they both got made to do work, and they all got treated like animals.

Mill girls got to read and teach others how to read, slaves did not. Most of the work done by mill girls were in factories, and slaves would work in fields and some ladies would work in their masters house. 'Their life in the factory was made pleasant to them.' Mill girls sometimes enjoyed their jobs in factories but slaves hated everything about being a slave. In my opinion mill girls didn't have it such as harsh as slaves did. They did very different work! Mill girls worked around machines and worked in factories, while slaves would work from the fields to the kitchen. If a slave miss behaved they would get whipped, but mill girls would not. Another similarity is that being either a slave or mill girl, either way you would have no power whats so ever.

Mill girls and slaves aren't that much different from each other. Solomon Northrup was a slave who was captured and taken into slavery. He worked on the Louisiana plantation for twelve years before returning home. Harriet Robinson was mill girl. She worked in a factory with other women. No men. Both Solomon Northrup and Harriet Robinson were put in some form of slavery. Solomon Northrup was captured and put into slavery even though he was born free. Harriet Robinson worked in a factory with many other women for most of her life. They both had many complications. Solomon was trying as hard as he could to explain that he was not a slave. That he was born free but nobody believed him. He had to find a way to prove that he was born free and that he wasn't suppose to be there as a slave. Harriet Robinson had many issues that were sort of similar to Solomon Northrup's. She had to deal with working like a slave in a factory. She worked with other women and ONLY women. Solomon Northrup and Harriet Robinson were both living in a form of slavery. They had limited time for eating or breaks. Sometimes they got little or no food at all. Solomon Northrup worked on a plantation with many other men and women while Harriet Robinson worked with many women. Solomon would always have something different to do. Harriet would be stuck doing pretty much the same exact thing everyday she worked in the factory. Slaves, along with mill girls, start at a young age. Some of the mill girls were only about ten years old but the majority of the age was between sixteen and twenty five. The younger ones of the mill girls were called doffers. With slaves, they can be pretty much any age to be sold and bought. Usually families with younger children get to stay together. But sometimes, that's not the case. If your children are over a certain age, they can be sold separately and never see you again. So, mill girls and slaves aren't that much different from each other. They go through many difficult times in all of their lives. They all just learn to deal with it until there's some way of getting freed.

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'The baskets are carried to the Cotten house' they where both feed one had to eat cold bacon one had warm food. They both had to sleep in groups but one had a bad to share.

One was free one had to stay where they where told. The women in the mills had to be carful the mushiness in the mills had no safety guards. The slaves where wiped for some time no resin.

The women in the mills could learn to read and rite and go to school. ' a few taught during the summer mouths.' One of the same things that are the same is that both kids and adults had to work. Both of the people where both in not safe places. They both had to leave there home to go and work for some one else. The slaves there kid napped but the women went to go by chose to get money. The slaves did not get padded for there work they did. The women had it better then the slave because they had good food, they where free, and they had a bed to sleep on. They where both in a bad place there was nothing no one help them. There was no safety things on the mushiness. There was slaves that died in the heat. Three was really no people that stood up for the women. The slaves had on one they could trust.

Larry miller 294 words

The bosses and owners were terrified because they've never see anything like it before. But the managers and owners had enough power to stop what the mill girls were doing. A second strike in 1836 happened again because they were trying to cut the mill workers wages AGAIN! This time, they were more organized and ready to go unlike last time so they though they would win this strike. But in the end, the same thing happened as last time. They lost and the bosses and owners won. But the mill girls still weren't gonna give up. In the 1840s, they tried a new way to go on strike. They organized the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association to press for reducing the workday to 10 hours. Women couldn't vote in Massachusetts or anywhere else in the country, but that didn't stop the mill girls. They organized huge petition campaigns. 2,000 signers on an 1845 petition and way more on a petition the next year asking the Massachusetts state legislature to say they would reduce the work day in the mills at 10 hours.

In 1853, they were finally able to work 11 hour days. But after the Civil War, the Lowell girls started to disappear from the labor force.

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Both people who come from very different backgrounds are still the same. Slaves and Mill Girls were both told when to come to work and when to stop the day at work. The girls had to start at five in the morning.'The working hours of all the girls extended from five o'clock in the morning until seven in the evening'(Page 1 Paragraph 5). While the slaves woke up at the crack of dawn and working till the end of the day. 'The hands are required to be in the field as soon as it is light out, and they need to be idle until it should be to dark to see' (Page 1 Paragraph 1). Another similar is they are both under control of the same person. The Mill Girls would be told when to have their brake(Paragraph 1). Solomon Northrop when he was a slave he would be told when to eat, and when to wake up in the morning to start picking cotton. Both of these types of people had to work hard, with barely any privacy. It was hard for both of these hardworking people. They had barely any food, and any sleep.

While the mill girls would get paid the slaves wouldn't get paid at all. Slaves had it harder than the Mill girls because the slaves would get beat for no reason. Some mill girls would have only have to work for 15 minutes every hour while the slaves would work nonstop from sun up to sun down. Another difference between these are the mill girls would have a set breakfast for them every morning when they would wake up, and while the slaves only had for say grits. The slaves would barely get enough to eat that sometimes the slaves would pass out while in the heat picking cotton. The mill girls would actually have work stations of people while the slaves had to every single hard working jobs for their self.

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Mill girls and slaves are similar and different depending on how you compare them. On one hand you have the slaves, barley kept alive by their hopes of freedom because 'The hands are required to be in the fields as soon as it is light in the morning, and, with the exception of ten or fifteen minutes, which is given to them at noon to swallow their allowance of cold bacon.' On the other hand you have the mill girls, usually they work 11-12 hour shifts but are fed well and given a small but nice place to stay. While the mill girls are given reasonable bedding and food the slaves slept on hard wood beds with no mattress and sometimes no pillows. Plus 'Each one receives, as his weekly allowance, three and a half pounds of bacon, and corn, which makes a peck of a meal.' Another difference is work ethic, slaves are forced to work for their lives while the girls have to work to keep their jobs but do not get whipped of they slack off. Although there are many differences between these laborers there are some similarities. One being that they are both working together, this is where we get the term the Lords of the Lash and the Lords of the Loom, the lash being the southerners slaves and the mill girls being at the loom. These two work together by the slaves producing cotton to sell to the mill girls to make clothes, blankets, etc. Mill girls often made money to send there brothers to school, 'There are many men living now who were helped to an education by the wages of the early mill girls.' This goes to show that guys don't do everything. Especially when the sister is paying for her brothers education. Also a similarity between these workers is that they both are treated unfairly. Slaves had no rights just like women. They both cannot inherit there fathers land and they can't vote. The men call all, the shots and could have total control. They can even decide to not give their daughter her share of land if she gets married! 'A father could make his will without reference to his daughters share of the inheritance.' So as you can see there are many similarities and differences between these two great labor forces that helped to build America.

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Slaves and Lowell Girls are somewhat in the same, but they also differ. Slaves are remembered in history as oppressed individuals who were over worked, abused, and the fuel for the Souths past economy boost. The slaves seemed to be nothing but a mule, meant for labor and not to be treated as humans by their masters. Slaves were of the lowest rank in society. Lowell girls are remembered as women who worked hard, but because of working in the mills they were thought to be (subjected to influences that might destroy her purity and self respect- HARRIET JACOBS Mill Girl). Not many people in England & France thought women working in mills was a good thing they actually opposed it, instead they thought a woman's place was doing of traditional jobs of the household. Being a Mill Girl was one of the (lowest employments of women- HARRIET JACOBS MILL GIRL).' Mill girls are known to work in the factories because the family was in need of money. Mill girls and slaves share some things ing common. One being both of them were being provided a place to stay at where you could eat and sleep. They both had lunch breaks (ten or fifteen minutes, which is given to them at noon to swallow their allowance of cold bacon- Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northrup). Both slaves and some mill girls were looked down upon by their oppressors that were generally male. Also mill girls and slaves both had to wake up very early to get ready for their work (an hour before day light the horn is blown. Then the slaves , arouse preparing breakfast fill guard with water,in another deposit their dinner of cold back and corn cake, and hurry to the field again. - Twelve Years a Slave: Narratives of Solomon Northrup) The biggest thing the mill girls and slaves have in common is that both work in some way was in dealing with cotton just in different forms. Slaves dealt with picking and cleaning the cotton , while mill girls dealt with taking the cotton and making the cotton into clothing and yarn. Both a designated person to watch over the workers to make sure the workers in line and doing the work. Slaves had an overseer and mill girls had a mistress. Both slaves and mill girls were not supposed to read.There are extreme differences between the slaves and mill girls as well. One is mills girls had a choice to go to work, though their family may need the money, the girls had the option to select different work. Slaves on the other hand do not have the option to not do the work or in what type of work they do. The slaves' master decided what work and would punish the slave brutally if he/she decided not to. Slaves had to make there own meals while mill girls had their food prepared by a mistress. A majority of slaves worked outside while mill girls work in a building. Though slaves and. I'll girls were low in the caste system, the mill girls had a higher status in society than the slaves. A major difference between mill girls and slaves is that slaves could be killed without and remorse, while mill girls couldn't. I think that being a slaves or a mill girl is one have the hardest things , and is personally something I couldn't bare. Both slaves and mill girls will forever be remembered and respected through history. I respect them both.

Breeona Watters

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Solomon Northrop was born a free man, but then kidnapped and for twelve years was tortured to be a 'Lord of the Lash' meaning he was tortured by the whip, otherwise the fear of being whipped that caused the slaves to think twice about running away. Or in this case making Solomon unsure about running back to New York to become a free man once again. Harriet Jacobs was a girl sent to work in the factories tortured to be a 'Lord of the Loom' to help pay for her family's poor income. The fear in her story being the harsh working conditions the girls had to work in, and the fear of not being able to help her family. They both have a story while similar, they are very different.

Solomon states in his 'Twelve Years as a Slave' excerpt that slaves have all around the year chores, such as; planting, ploughing, cotton picking, corn gathering, wood gathering, wood chopping, etc. He describes them as 'Work all Seasons.' Unlike Harriet who had summers free, so she could visit her family. Which indicates that the gov't gives White Woman special 'privileges'. Also proved my Mr.Pax the other day in our note-packets, saying that at the top of the chart there is [white] men, then woman, then foreigners, then at the bottom The Blacks. Tell me if I'm wrong, but if Solomon could visit his family in the summer, I don't think he would have spent '12 years as a slave.' But that's just my opinion.

Secondly, Solomon states in his excerpt that he has 'A weekly allowance of 3 1/2 lbs. of bacon, and just enough corn to make a peck of meal.' This does confuse me though, I guess Slave owners wanted their slaves strong enough to do chores, but not strong enough to rebel. Maybe they also did this to Lowell girls, just strong enough to do the work part. As also proved by Mr. Pax, it is stated that to every dollar a man makes, a woman makes 40¢.

Harriet states that some of the Lowell girls held strikes. Obviously Solomon and other slaves couldn't do that, right? Well maybe they could..... Depending on the size of a slave group maybe they could've, if they're was only one whip...maybe they can whip all of the slaves at once.....or maybe not.... Just something to think of.

But as different as they're takes May be, they have a lot in common. In the Lowell Mill Girls Video it says that The Girls had to follow Christianity, had to do 'Grueling and Demanding work.', there were overseers, close bonds with other workers, they're were four to a room, so little to no privacy, and lastly they had to wake up early in the morning and went to bed late. This is all in common with the slaves.

As you can see, strikes, whips, poor allowances, working all seasons, and hard work, rough conditions, no privacy, close bonds. Harriet Jacobs and Solomon Northrop have a story while similar, very different.

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