This booklet is curriculum support for the American Social History Project's 30-minute documentary Daughters of Free Men. The viewer's guide contains background information on issues raised by the documentary as well as additional primary source…

Lucy Larcom worked in the mills at Lowell as a young woman. Forty years later, she described her experiences in her book An Idyl of Work. She dedicated the book "to working women."

Lucy Larcom worked in the mills of Lowell as a young woman. Forty years later, she described her experiences in her book An Idyl of Work. She dedicated the book "to working women."

The Lowell Offering was a magazine written by the young women who worked in the Lowell textile mills. It was published from 1840 to 1845. The magazine was supported by the city’s textile companies, and it promoted morality and hard work among…

Starting in the 1820s, a group of business owners built textile mills in New England, where for the first time, people could use machines to weave cotton into cloth. The first factories recruited women from rural New England as their labor force.…

Starting in the 1820s, a group of business owners built textile mills in New England, where for the first time, people could use machines to weave cotton into cloth. The first factories recruited women from rural New England as their labor force.…

The Lowell Offering was a magazine written by the young women who worked in the Lowell textile mills. It was published from 1840 to 1845. The magazine was supported by the city's textile companies, and it promoted morality and hard work among the…

The young farm women who worked in the Lowell textile mills were used to hard work, but working the large, noisy mills was different. On the farm, women had controlled their own work schedule, and they did may different tasks. In the mill, women did…

In this activity students perform a role play of a talk show between Lowell workers and factory owners. To research their characters, students analyze primary sources. This activity is used to teach with the film Daughters of Free Men, but can be…

These worksheets guide students as they watch the short film Daughters of Free Men.