 In late November 1842, 70 weavers at the Middlesex Mills walked off their jobs, protesting the newly-introduced requirement to tend two looms instead of one.The workers were fired and blacklisted, and shortly afterwards, Bagley left the Hamilton Mills and went to work for Middlesex.Between 1842 and 1844, over 1,000 textile workers left Lowell as a result of wage cuts and stretch-outs due to an economic recession.