The Most They Ever Had Analysis

The Most They Ever Had, written by Rick Bragg tells the story of hard working southern whites who even under harsh conditions went to work every day for what they felt was the best paycheck they ever made. The mill was more than work; it was family, life and salvation. It was baseball games, childhood pranks, poverty, singers, and love. From the mills of Greenleaf, to the textile union strikes, to President Roosevelt changing labor laws, the mills were a legacy of hard work. Americans worked hard, suffered lots and never complained. This was mill life and many still look back on that life as the most they ever had. This report will discuss the lives of millworkers from the early 1900s through 2006 when the Jacksonville, Alabama cotton mill closed. It will describe the hard working people of the mills in the south to the criminal owners and finally the memories that these hardworking Americans will have for generations to follow. When the mills first opened in the south in the early 20th century, they opened a new world and a new way of life but not a new amount of money. Mills were created in villages which also provided housing, grocery stores, local churches and schools. Even with the promised community the paychecks were minimal. This was evident after they purchased food, and paid their rent, nothing was left for the month. When asked why they stayed, they would all say the same, it was job security. They were not worried about crops not making it due to weather conditions, the machines ran regardless. Later the workers would even realize the mills could withstand war, economic depression, natural disasters and even strikes. It was not the most profitable or best working conditions but it provided sustainability for its workers for generations. Men, women and children would work from sun up to sun down. Complaining got you nowhere; hard work was what they wanted. Floria was one of the fastest hard working young women to ever pick cotton. She weighed barely 100 pounds but could pick over three hundred pounds in a day. She would tell you, “I thought of the money” (p.39). “I wanted my kids to go as nice as anybody” (p.38). If she was offered extra money to pick harder and faster, then that is what she would do. She discussed how her hands would bleed from the cotton, how you had to work from boiling hot to freezing cold. She did not wallow in self-pity but just worked as hard as she could. One day as she got to work the owner offered an extra dollar if anyone would pick the entire row before quitting time. No one thought it was possible. Floria, however screamed out, “I can do that” (p.44). The owner let her know it was not possible. Floria stayed determined the whole day working side by side her friend and by the end of the day accomplished her goal. Floria later went to work inside the mills. She would tell you it was hot, hard work and if you were careless you could lose a finger, limb or life. Like all mill workers she worked hard and tirelessly. She would put in long days and then still go home and take care of her family. She stated, no one ever told us we could get sick. It was a way to make a dollar and that is what we did. When she …show more content…
This left hundreds of workers unemployed. The workers felt defeated. Sonny parker said, “We did everything they asked us to do” (p. 148). In the end they knew there was no fight to fight. There were people in other countries that did not have the regulations that the United States mills had. People in other countries would work for pocket change. Some cried silently, stared at the floor in disbelief, but in the end, they left and found other things to do. Some retired and others like Sonny found other employment. It may not have paid as well as the mill but the work was secure and the working conditions were