 The Lowell girls ' organizing efforts were notable not only for the " unfeminine " participation of women , but also for the political framework used to appeal to the public . Framing their struggle for shorter work days and better pay as a matter of rights and personal dignity , they sought to place themselves in the larger context of the American Revolution . During the 1834 " turn @-@ out " or strike – they warned that " the oppressing hand of avarice would enslave us , " the women included a poem which read : 
