Final answer:
Francis Cabot Lowell provided workers with housing in company-owned boarding houses, cultural and educational activities, and wages, evidenced by historical accounts of the Boston Manufacturing Company and the formation and actions of the Lowell Factory Girls Association.
Step-by-step explanation:
Evidence that Francis Cabot Lowell provided his workers with education, housing, and wages comes from the historical accounts of the Boston Manufacturing Company operations. Lowell, aware of the dangers of a permanent working class, employed young women in his textile mill under the notion that this work was a temporary phase before they returned to rural life.
Despite the harsh conditions of working eighty hours a week in a factory filled with particles of thread and cloth, the mill offered company-owned boarding houses for living. Additionally, cultural and educational activities such as concerts, dances, church services, classes, and lectures were provided.
These opportunities were seen as provisions for a wholesome lifestyle, aligning with Lowell's vision of maintaining the workers' reputations and providing social uplift.
The existence of the Lowell Factory Girls Association and their 1836 turn-out or strike against management's proposed rent increases also indicates that housing was a significant aspect of their employment. Moreover, external observations like those made by Michel Chevalier in his book ‘Society, Manners, and Politics in the United States,’ provide historical evidence of the wages and rules at Lowell's mill, thus confirming the company's provision of employment and economic benefits to these workers, albeit with gender wage discrepancies.