Your goal is to write a comprehensive essay, based principally on the primary source documents found in The Lowell Offering, as well as the additional sources that I have posted in Blackboard.
Some women worked in the mills, relishing the freedom and independence they felt away from the farm for the first time, while others developed a cult of domesticity, thinking themselves free to not have to work.
The central question is this: Was life better for women who chose to work in the Lowell mills or the women who chose to stay on the farm? Compare the meaning of freedom for these two groups of women.
Things to think about:
- Shift from artisan to factory workers – advantages and disadvantages?
- Daily life in the Lowell mills
- Changing societal values for women in the early 19th century
- Role of women during the market revolution vs. “republican motherhood” during American Revolution
- Incorporate the information from the additional document pack found in the ‘Assignments’ tab in Blackboard
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Your essay should be 5 pages (double spaced) in length. Please use standard font and margins.
DO NOT PLAGIARIZE! The only sources that you should be using are your textbook, the Eisler book and the additional sources that I have posted in Blackboard. That means absolutely no internet sources are to be utilized. If you include direct quotations, use quotation marks and be sure to explain how the quotation relates to your argument. Include frequent references to the assigned readings each time you draw upon them, not only when you are quoting. Use parenthetical citations — example: (Eisler, 75). A works cited page at the end of the paper is not necessary.
*** If you plagiarize any portion of this assignment from the internet, or any other source, you will receive a zero. If you have questions about what constitutes plagiarism or how to cite material, you should consult with MCC’s Writing Center (you can find the link in the ‘External Links’ tab in Blackboard).
Your essay is due by Saturday evening (October 28) at 11:30PM. Late submissions will be subject to the penalty discussed in the syllabus (10% per day).
Please attach your submissions to an email (jnichter@mclennan.edu) as a WORD document (or in a compatible format). Failure to attach as a Word document may mean that I will be unable to open your essay and you will not receive credit for the assignment. When I receive your essay, I will send you a confirmation email. If you do not get a confirmation email from me within 24 hours, please contact me.
