19th Century Shifting Perceptions of Work and Gender Roles

The Changing Perception of Work and Gender Roles in 19th Century America

Shifting Definitions of Work and Gendered Labor

• Romanticized Wording: Efforts were made to romanticize the language surrounding domestic work, framing housekeepers as embodying "feminine qualities," which inherently altered the perception of what constituted "work."
• Perception of Work: The core issue revolves around distinguishing what counts as work and what does not. By the $19^{th}$ century, the definition of work was undergoing significant transformation.
• Men's Work:
  • Men's roles often involved wage-earning. The speaker emphasizes that the railroad, for instance, paid wages.
  • Examples included machinery jobs that required "strong men" due to the physical demands.
• Women's Domestic Labor:
  • Before refrigeration, preserving food was a substantial task, including salting and canning (putting everything in jars).
  • This domestic production was a critical, yet often unpaid, form of labor.

Women's Education and the Republic's Preservation

• Educational Access for Women: A key argument for women's access to education was their crucial role in raising the next generation of American citizens.
• Civic Duty: This was seen as vital for the "good of the republic" and the "preservation of the United States."
• Founding Fathers' Philosophy: Rooted in the revolutionary era, many founding fathers, like Benjamin Franklin (who famously commented, "We have a republic if you can keep it"), believed a "well-educated citizenry" was essential to maintain a republic.
• Impact: This perspective opened up some educational opportunities for women.

The Public and Private (Domestic) Spheres

• Sphere Division: Society was conceptually divided into two distinct spheres:
  • Public Sphere: Primarily associated with men.
  • Private/Domestic Sphere: Primarily associated with women. The terms "private" and "domestic" were often used interchangeably, signifying the household.
• Women's Influence: Women's influence, frequently emphasized in contemporary sources, was intended to be confined solely to their family, not extending into public life.
• Driving Force: This division was significantly driven by rapid industrialization.
• Prescriptive vs. Descriptive: The division into separate spheres was largely prescriptive (how things should be) rather than descriptive (how things actually were).
• Limited Accessibility: This ideology was only accessible to a select portion of American society.
  • Poor Families: Unable to adhere to strict gender roles; literally everyone, including children, had to work to support the family. Most Americans in this era were not wealthy enough to afford such a division.
  • Widows: Often self-reliant, managing their own resources.
  • Enslaved Families: The ideology did not apply at all. Enslaved women worked extensively, often performing agricultural labor (not wage labor, as they were unpaid property), with cotton being the "major cash crop of the $19^{th}$ century."

Consequences for Men and Women's Actual Labor

• Men's Perceived Incompetence: A consequence for men was the development of a perception that they were incompetent at household labor. Traces of this can still be seen in modern television advertisements often depicting clueless fathers struggling with simple domestic tasks like laundry.
• Women's Diverse Economic Contributions (Beyond Domestic Sphere):
  • Women engaged in scavenging, mending, and actively managing household budgets to save money.
  • They performed comparative shopping, such as determining which grocer offered cheaper prices for goods like chickens.
  • This involved significant bargaining, sewing, household production, and sales.
• Evolution of Production: Initially, entire families would work together on contracts for companies (e.g., one family sewing buttons, another hemming, another ironing shirts).
• Rise of the Factory System: This home-based production was eventually superseded by the factory system, largely originating in Britain.

The Lowell Factory System

• Famous Factories: Lowell factories became renowned for employing women in factory labor.
• Company Towns: Many of these factories led to the creation of "company towns" in the American West by the mid-$19^{th}$ century. Here, the company owned all local businesses, and residents worked exclusively for the company. Workers might be paid in "scrip" (slips of paper redeemable only at the company store) instead of actual currency.
• Workforce: Primarily women, but children also worked in these factories.
• Dangers: The factory environment posed hazards, such as the risk of getting caught in machinery.

Analysis of Primary Sources on Lowell Mills

Source: Early Critical View (unattributed in transcript)

• Nature of Labor: Described mill labor as "monotonous" and "boring," indicating it was extracted from young women.
• Worker Condition: Workers were portrayed as "fatigued, exhausted, and worn out."
• Contrast to Ideal: Explicitly distinguished this arduous factory work from the "proper sphere of women," which was supposed to be pleasant and within the household, presenting a negative view of mill life.

Source: Letter written in $1844$ (Speaker refers to it as "she's talking to a friend, Mary")

• Context: A letter from a woman (likely a mill worker or overseer) to her friend Mary, explaining why girls came to the mills.
• Mixed Perception: Offered both positive and negative aspects:
  • Negative: The work was dissatisfying.
  • Positive: It was seen as a better alternative to other options; women went to the mills to find a "better life."
• Challenge to Separate Spheres: The act of women choosing to leave the domestic sphere for mill work directly contradicted the ideology of separate spheres.

Source: Harriet Hanson Robinson's Autobiography (written in $1898$)

• Author & Context: Written by Harriet Hanson Robinson in $1898$, approximately $50$ years after she had worked at the mill as a child.
• Recollection: Her account was an autobiographical recollection, written many decades after the events, which influences the perspective.
• Portrayal of Mill Work: Described mill work as "not as bad as we would have thought."
• Child Labor: Noted that young girls only worked $15$ minutes out of every hour and could read or play outside if the overseer was lenient.
• Later Reforms: Mentioned the passage of a "$10$ hour law" to reduce working hours, indicating improvements over time.
• Reasons for Women's Work: Many women worked to "secure the means of education for a male member of the family" or to fund a college education for them, sending money back home.
• Worker Action: Also mentioned the strikes that occurred at the mills.

Source: Factory Rules from the Handbook to Lowell (John Avery, $1848$)

• Author & Role: Written by John Avery in $1848$, who was the "agent" (manager) of the mill.
• Strict Regulations: The rules were highly stringent, including:
  • Mandatory religious participation (no hiring if not religious).
  • Prohibition of stealing.
  • Monthly payments.
  • A minimum $12$-month work commitment.
  • Refusal to hire individuals deemed "guilty or immoral."
  • A $2$-week notice required before leaving.
  • Mandatory residence in boarding houses.
  • Strict punctuality requirements.
• Perspective: Presented a direct, company-oriented source with a positive outlook on the provided conditions.
• Reinforcing Separate Spheres (Publicly): The rules demonstrated efforts to maintain a wholesome image, reassuring the public (and potential workers/families) through requirements like attending church every Sabbath, which aligned with domestic morality ideals.

Source: Massachusetts House Rule (referencing Sarah Bagley)

• Perspective: Represented a highly negative perception of mill work, voiced by Sarah Bagley.
• Worker Dissatisfaction: Bagley delivered a "very long, compelling statement" expressing her unhappiness with the working conditions.
• Health and Fairness: Cited concerns about the length of working hours, the unhealthiness of the atmosphere, and overall "unfair conditions."
• Lack of Personal Time: Emphasized that working all day left no time for personal pursuits.