<P> For the first time in the United States, these mills combined the textile processes of spinning and weaving under one roof, essentially eliminating the "putting - out system" in favor of mass production of high - quality cloth . It completely revolutionized the textile industry and "eventually became the model for other manufacturing industries" in the United States . </P> <P> Lowell solved the problem of labor by employing young women (usually single) between the ages of 15 and 35, who became known as "mill girls". Unlike European industries, which had access to "large, landless, urban populations whose reliance on the wage system gave them few economic choices", American companies had to grapple with a small labor supply because the population was small and most preferred farming their own land and the economic independence that came with it . Additionally, many Americans viewed the European factory system as "inherently corrupt and abusive". </P> <P> In order to persuade these young women to work at a mill, they were paid in cash once "every week or two weeks". Additionally, Lowell devised a factory community: women were required to live in company - owned dormitories adjacent to the mill that were run by older women chaperones called "matrons". In addition to working 80 hours a week, the women had to adhere to strict moral codes (enforced by the matrons) as well as attend religious services and educational classes . Despite being "highly discriminatory and paternalistic compared to modern standards, it was seen as revolutionary in its day". </P> <P> Indeed, hiring women made good business sense; not only did women have experience weaving and spinning, they could be paid less than men, thereby increasing the profits of Lowell's Boston Manufacturing Company, and were "more easily controlled then men". Additionally, his tight rein on his employees "cultivated employee loyalty, kept wages low, and assured his stockholders accelerating profits". </P>

What was the purpose of the lowell mills