To Mill or Not to Mill?: Benefits and Costs of Mill Life

For people who worked in the mills, there were both benefits and costs. The benefits were what made them want to go to the mills, and the costs were made made them strike. The benefits of the mill life seemed very attractive to the farm girls it was sold to. One of these benefits was getting to experience city life. the girls who would work in the mills, for the most part, had never lived with a lot of other people before. This could be seen as an exciting opportunity. The girls would also get an education. Their wages were large enough that they could send some back to their family and still have enough to support themselves. Workers in the mill were provided with meals, so the girls wouldn't go hungry. Finally, a benefit that parents appreciated was the fact the girls would have to obey a code of conduct. A father figure made sure that they went to church on Sunday, and a mother figure made sure that they didn't stay out late. So the mill life was great, right? Not quite.

The rules that had to be followed by the mill workers

Among all these benefits, there were many drawbacks. One cost was being separating from their family. This obviously left many girls feeling sad. Another very important drawback was that the conditions were very dangerous to the health of the girls. The girls were very likely to contract lung diseases, bone diseases, deafness, illness, lose limbs, and even die.  Over the years, hours got longer and wages got lower. Workers could be beaten by their cruel overseers if they did their jobs wrong. Conditions may have been good in the early years of industrialization , but they soon declined, and the costs of going to the mills outweighed the benefits.