Women in the mills
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During a time when America was at its infancy Sarah Hodgon wrote her first letter to her family from Lowell Mills. Feeling homesick, Sarah wrote the following poem in a letter "I want to se[e] you more I think Than I can write with pen and ink. But when I shall I cannot tell But from my heart I wish you well"1(pp. 29). Sarah chose, like many other farmwomen during the period of 1830 to 1860, to work at Lowell Mills. This was one of the first steps in a long journey to freedom for farmwomen. Farmwomen chose the mills as a source of income or as a source of freedom, were not only liberated but were liberators. For the first time farmwomen were allowed to work for themselves, save money for school, see different places, and it was the first form of unification for women. If it were not for these brave and ambitious young women who sought adventure and freedom the American Industrial Revolution may never had taken form.
The only career option for women prior to the 1800's was to work on the family farm...