Restores Browns a philosopher, minister, and Journalist from the sass compared the slave labor system with the wage labor system In Restores Browns Condemns “Wage Slavery,” 1840. Despite the fact Brannon states that he does not advocate slavery and considers himself a modern balloonists, Browns says that If given the chance to choose between slave labor and waged labor, slave labor would be the one he recommends. “We regard the system as decidedly preferable to the system at wages. Restores Browns Condemns Mage Slavery,” 1840) He defends his argument by saying the slave that was never free suffers less than someone who works for a living. “The laborer at wages has all the disadvantages of freedom and none of its blessings, while the slave, if denied the blessings, is freed from the disadvantages. ” (Restores Browns Condemns “Wage Slavery,” 1840) This simply explains the fact that the waged worker may be ‘free’ but are faced with disadvantages that slaves don’t necessarily have to worry about.
Some examples loud be that the slaves are given food, lodging, and even the rations given may not have been much the slaves were better off than the waged worker who had to supply his family with a place to sleep, something to eat, and clothes to wear, things that were not promised because they may or may not have been able to afford it depending on their pay. A key difference to note (as mentioned before) is that the waged worker may not make enough money to be able to properly provide for his family with his current wage assuming he has a Job, while a slave is supplied with Hess things by their masters.
Upon noting this difference Browns introduces the working class of females describing them as industrious and hard working, Browns does not overlook the fact that the female workers are paid poorly for their labor. “And yet there is a man who employs them to make shirts, trousers, etc. , and grows rich on their labors. ” (Restores Browns Condemns “Wage Slavery,” 1840) The fact the employer grows rich on their labors Is another phrase that Browns uses to further exemplify the low wages the working class receives. Where go the proceeds f their labor? The man who employs them, and for whom they are tolling as so many slaves, is one of our city nabobs, reveling in luxury;” “he shouts for liberty, stickles for equality, and is horrified at a southern planter who keeps slaves. ” (Restores Browns Condemns “Wage Slavery,” 1840) Browns ends by saying that wages are a way for employers to avoid the costs of slaves and retain a clear conscience. “Who would retain all the advantages of the slave system without the expense, trouble, and odium of being slaveholders. (Restores Browns Condemns “Wage Slavery,” 1840) This line sakes Brown’s reasoning as to why he favors slave labor clear, summarizing his ideas and placing them In one sentence, which basically says that a waged worker is paid less than a slave. In 1834, the Boston Transcript reports on the Strike the report starts by saying the workers in Lowell would be receiving a 15% pay cut on the 1st of March, a reduction that primarily affected the female workers.
This news led to organized meeting that were headed by a young female, that proposed they should qua e mills Ana “Induce teen to ‘make a run’ on ten Lowell n an ten savings Bank, which they the Boston Transcript reports on the Strike) The organization proved successful, due to the fact that the day the Agent had fired the young female who had headed the meetings all the other women had assembled around her after she gave them the signal.
The group (that had grown to nearly 800 participants) marched into town, where one of the leaders delivered a speech on female rights ” and the iniquities of the ‘mooned aristocracy,’ which produced a powerful affect on her auditors, and they determined to ‘have their way if they died for it. (1834, the Boston Transcript reports on the Strike) A Poem that concluded Lowell Women Workers’ 1834 Petition to the Manufacturer was created, in which the oppression the females faced working in the mills and how they seemed to adopt the liberty rhetoric to defend their rights in the work place is made clearer to the reader. Tie I value not the feeble threats/ of Tories in disguise, Awhile the flag of Independence/ O’er our nation flies. “(Poem that concluded Lowell Women Workers’ 1834 Petition to the Manufacturer) These lines from the poem make it clear that they ill not succumb to their fears and do as the manufacturers says, but instead will continue their battle for equality in a nation that had fought for its independence and claimed that all are equal (at least those who qualify, for example slaves were not included).
Later in 1836 Song Lyrics by Protesting Workers at Lowell compare their working conditions to the treatment of slaves proclaiming “Oh! I cannot be a slave, / For I’m so fond of liberty, II cannot be a slave. ” (1836 Song Lyrics by Protesting Workers at Lowell) The females adapted the liberty rhetoric in their search for quality in the workplace, using things like protests and petitions to spread their message and rising against their oppressors demanding their rights and letting the manufacturers know that they will ” ‘have their way even if they died for it. ” (1834, the Boston Transcript reports on the Strike) Which seems similar to “Give me freedom or give me death. ” Although both Browns and the Lowell Mill Girls argue for changes in the labor system, they each go about it a different way. A key difference is noted in their way of reasoning, while Browns uses comparisons (compares slave abort to waged labor) to get his point across, the Lowell Mill Girls adopt the liberty rhetoric to try and persuade manufacturers.
Another thing to note is that Browns attempts to use words for his manner of persuasion while the Lowell Mill Girls use action (their march, speeches, and song) to attempt and obtain what they want. Browns demonstrates an aggressive attitude in Restores Browns Condemns “Wage Slavery,” 1840, going as far as saying that the employer is practically a slave owner who’s cut his expenses and pockets the savings for himself, the Lowell Mill
Girls also take on a seemingly aggressive attitude forming an organized march and showing their resistance without fear of confrontation. The major difference to note between Browns and the Lowell Mill Girls is the changes they are looking to obtain, both are significant changes, but different nonetheless, while Browns is seeking a higher wage for the working class that will at least provide decent quality of life, while the Lowell Mill Girls are looking for female equality in the work place that may lead to better working conditions for as well.
