Hello, historical buffs,

 I often asked myself while growinhg up in Lowell, the big city: “Who is running this town?”

“Are the elected officials making all the key decisions for the well-being of all the ctizens of the city whether they be wealthy or from the class of the immigrant poor and the down-trodden?” 

These were rambling thoughts going through my head, but I coud not figure out, on my own, how the system really worked. 

Certainly, the owner of Pollard’s Department Store had more political influence at City Hall than my dad, Ben Boduc, but, in a democracy, it is the number of total votes coming from all the people (everybody properly counted) that makes the essence of a final decision. 

In a democracy, how can the city’s major, financial decisons be made by a small number of wealthy citizens owning 80% (or more) of the entire municipal wealth? 

Most of the folks in town did not have a spare nickel in their pockets.

A question like this one is addressed in the article attached below called:

Overseers in Lowell’s Textile Mills

See below for details:

LibGuides: Overseers in Lowell’s Textile Mills: Introduction

This article from uml edu looks into how the Lowell Experiment actually happened over the many years.

Tell me what you think, please,

Paul