Allegheny Cotton Mill Strikes
Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Major strikes by women cotton factory workers protesting 12-hour work-days occurred nearby in Allegheny City in 1845 & 1848. The strikes led to an 1848 state law limiting workdays to 10 hours and prohibiting children under twelve years of age from working in cotton and textile mills.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In 1845 and 1848, women who worked the cotton factories of Allegheny City walked off the job to protest brutal twelve-hour workdays, taking a stand in one of early America's first waves of industrial labor action. Their protests helped push Pennsylvania to pass an 1848 law capping the workday at ten hours and barring children under twelve from cotton and textile mills. These were among the earliest organized efforts by American working women to demand humane conditions.
Why it matters
The strikes mark a pioneering moment for women workers and child-labor reform, at the very dawn of the American industrial labor movement.
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Related events
- · Allegheny cotton mill strikes of 1845 and 1848
Themes & tags
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