Social and Economic Conditions of American Society in the 1800s

This essay explores the social and economic conditions of American society during the 1800s through three historical documents - Lowell Mill, Missouri Emigration, and Harriet Jacobs' Trials of a Slave Girl. The essay sheds light on the lives of factory girls, emigrants, and slaves, and highlights the themes of industrialization, immigration, and slavery.

Running head: HISTORY ESSAY
History Essay
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1HISTORY ESSAY
The first story “A Lowell Mill Girl Tells her Story (1836)” talks about the lives of the
factory girls who were employed by the Lowell Mill, after the Industrial Revolution the social
and economic conditions of America changed drastically (Internet History Sourcebooks). The
women during that period gained a new identity and had new employment roles as described in
the primary source, working in a factory was considered to be one of the most lowest forms of
employment to be adopted by the women. The women during that time did not enjoy any social
respect or financial status, they were considered to be merely “a relict” and unless she was
married she enjoyed no respect in the society and became the burden for the relatives. In
Massachusetts during the 1800s a woman could not even be a treasurer of the sewing group
unless she had a husband, a man had to be in charge of a woman, or without the supervision of a
man any woman was considered to be useless and a woman without honour.
The industrial revolution brought a change in the status of the women, it cannot be said
that their conditions were improved but it certainly helped in bringing several changes in legal ,
social as well as financial status of the women in the future. The women who worked in the
factories were considered to belong to the lowest categories of society. They were mistreated,
abused and under paid by their employers, the purity and self respect of these women were under
the doubts of the society. In spite of all these social stigma the women even little girls went to
work in the facto ries, and for most of them the chief aim they had in mind was to educate their
men who could have been their brothers, sons, relatives to help them gain education so that they
could have a respectable status in the society. Most of the men who gained respectable position
in the society were at that time educated with the help of finances provided by the factory girls or
women.

2HISTORY ESSAY
The second story “Across the Plains with Catherine Sager Pringle in 1844” tells the
story of Missouri Emigration during that time , after Missouri was bought by the United States of
America people from Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky emigrated to the state (Pringle). The
story tells the experiences of a little girl who while moving with her family to Missouri faced
certain hardships and lost both of her parents of the journey. They travelled through the Oregon
Trail the route, which connected Missouri with Oregon. The German and the Irish were the
biggest community who moved to Missouri during that period, in this story the German Doctor is
one of such people who emigrated from his country to Missouri. Between the period of 1830 and
1850s a huge population of the Germans came to Missouri. There were several others who came
to this state in order to improve their economic conditions. The economy of Missouri was base
on farming and mining, agriculture was a booming industry during that time. As people
belonging to various backgrounds settled in Missouri, there were a lot of fugitives and thus
violence became a part of the lives of the settlers.
The third story “The Trials of a Slave Girl” revolves around the experiences of a slave
girl named Harriet Jacobs and her experiences as a 15-year-old black slave girl who was
constantly sexually abused and tortured by her master Dr Flint (Jacobs). At the time when she
was younger she was allowed to spend some good time with the master’s children but when
became 15 years old her master started “whispering foul words” into her ear and his attitude
towards her changed completely. He constantly reminded her that she was his property and that
no one can stop him from doing whatever he wants with her. According to her words, the plight
of the slaves was pathetic as they were reduced to “chattel” and their fate entirely depended upon
the whims of their masters she tried her best to protect herself but is unable to do so. This story
sheds light to a bigger historical context, during the 19th century the slaves were mistreated for

3HISTORY ESSAY
real, they were flogged, mutilated, raped or imprisoned. They were punished if they ever
disobeyed or tried to rise against their masters, and often their masters abused them to ascertain
their superiority over them. The female slave were often sexually abused, this mistreatment of
slaves was mostly rooted in the southern parts of America where the slaves were mostly required
to work in the plantations where the slaves were considered to be the properties of the
masters. The babies who were born to the slave mothers and white masters were still considered
to be they did not receive the status of their fathers. In the Upper Southern parts of America, a
population containing mixed races grew there although the southern people believed in the racial
purity still there were a lot of mulatto off-springs who were born there.
In the three stories portrays the social and economic conditions of American society
during the 1800s. Industrialization, slavery and immigration are the three themes, which can
be understood from the stories. The women in the society were trying to gain a place in the
society, The Lowell Mill was the first place where the women protested openly in public about
their employment issues as Harriet Hanson Robinson herself pointed it out, although there was
no huge change brought by them but it created ripples, which continued into the future. The
experiences of Catherine Sager was different she was a child when she lost her parents and she
along with her seven siblings were adopted by strangers who were kind enough to them. Lastly,
Harriet Jacobs who was one of the several black girls who were abused by their owners during
the 19th century. She got the opportunity to tell her story in front of the world, otherwise the
white people avoided this topic although they knew about it they were all afraid or indifferent to
tell the stories of these poor slaves. The protagonists in all three historical documents clearly
portray the picture of the society of the 19th century while successfully highlighting three of the
major historical topics.

4HISTORY ESSAY
Reference List:
Internet History Sourcebooks. Sourcebooks.fordham.edu. N.p., 2018. Web. 14 Feb. 2018.
Jacobs, Harriet Ann. Incidents in the life of a slave girl: Written by herself. Vol. 119. Harvard
University Press, 2009.
Pringle, Catherine Sager. Across the Plains in 1844. Ye Galleon Press, 1905.