"Country girls were naturally independent, and the feeling that at this new work the few hours they had of everyday leisure were entirely their own was a satisfaction to them. They preferred it to going out as "hired help." It was like a young man's pleasure in entering upon business for himself.  Girls had never tried that experiment before, and they liked it."

Questions: 1. Why did young rural women like the idea of working in factories? 2. Imagine that you are a teenage girl growing up on a New England farm in the mid-1800s. Would you be tempted to work in a factory? Why or why not? Click here to print.