Fb2 Factory Girl ePub

Before the New York shirtwaist fire, factory girls were in every city and mill town of the growing US. These young women worked under dangerous and unfair conditions, responding to a male-dominated foreman and factory owner only interested in greedy profits. It was sad to realize how much hurt is evident in these women's eyes. A great read and exact historical record of dominance by one gender over another.

This was a fantastic book. It is reminiscent of the American Girl Series in that the fact-based fictional character is an independent, progressively-minded girl of her time period, and in the way historical facts and photos are woven in with the fictional text. However, it is written in a much more sophisticated manner than the American Girl books, and provides more depth of information. We have read several of Barbara Greenwood's other books as well, and they are similarly beautifully written and illustrated.

This was an excellent story and a good, quick read. Very interesting and historically based upon the early sweat shops.

Good book that explains the time period. Great Living history book

Pleased

I got this for my 8 year old granddaughter. She read it straight through without putting it down. She had never thought a book could be so real.

"I hated this book more than anything ever before in my whole life."
Comment from my son who had to read it for school ;)

In parallel narratives, this informative book provides a compelling and often disturbing look at the incidence of child labor in the United States during the early 1900s. Before unions had much power and before the country enacted federal legislation banning child labor, employers commonly hired young children as factory workers, miners, farmers, cleaners, messengers, and street vendors. Not only did children work at lower wages, they were often viewed as having more nimble fingers and feet for performing the same monotonous and sometimes dangerous tasks all day long. Employers could also intimidate children more easily so they would not complain about the poor labor standards, low pay, and hazardous environment.

A fictional story of a twelve-year old sweatshop worker named Emily is interwoven with historical accounts of the atrocious working conditions that children faced and the abject poverty in which many lived. Both of these narratives highlight the plight of immigrant children who lived and worked in particularly wretched circumstances. The book also emphasizes the role of newspapers, labor organizers, churches, and reform-minded individuals in raising awareness about the plight of the poor and the injustice of child labor.

Adding to the stark reality of the text is a treasure trove of archival photographs, many taken by Lewis Hines -- a former schoolteacher who famously travelled across the country taking pictures of exploited child workers. As the author notes, the United States has largely eradicated child labor, but the problem continues in some developing countries and requires continued advocacy and social reform.