New York City Triangle Fire Case Study

These are the survivors thoughts on the Triangle Factory Fire. There was over 100 survivors but I choose two of the most important people who lived from the fire and I am sharing their thoughts.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was the deadliest in the history of the city for many reasons, some related to the workers, the owners, and even the help that was provided. One of the rules set for workers was that they were

Triangle-Shirtwaist Factory Fire: This is an industrial disaster where 146 women who worked in the sweatshops factory died because of the fire, inhaling too much smokes, or jump to their death. Owners were not found guilty since they didn’t violate any laws, which resulted in families of the decrease to be awarded $75 per victims. The incident resulted an improvement of the factory safety

March 25th, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory burned leaving 145 workers dead. Negated safety rules and regulations and the overall working conditions in the factory where illegal manual workers were paid close to nothing for working very long hours, were a known concern that was just looked over by the business managers in this “Sweatshop.” Fires, leading up to this tragedy, were looked passed on the count of government officials and business managers’ corrupt ways of running things. The owners of the factory, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris were known for causing fires in factories they have previously owned such as two Diamond Waist Company factory fires in 1907 and 1910, and the Triangle Shirtwaist Company’s fire in 1902. They were doing so to collect insurance money and everyone looked the other way.

The 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire is seen as a turning point in American history that profoundly affected society. 146 workers, primarily young immigrant women, lost their lives in this horrific incident, which also caused a societal change that shook the entire country. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire had a wide range of effects on society, which will be discussed in this essay. These effects include the labor movement, workplace safety, labor regulations, and general social consciousness. It is crucial to take into account the early 20th century socioeconomic circumstances in order to comprehend the significance of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

The Tringle Shirtwaist Fire was the epitome for the labor reform that would impact years to follow. In the year 1911, a tragic incident shook New York City, this incident being the “Triangle Shirtwaist Fire”. The Triangle Shirtwaist Company employed an approximate of 500 people these people being from the minority group of young Jewish and Italian women. The Triangle Shirtwaist Company had already started to play a “key role” in the era of labor history. After about 200 of the company’s women tried to join the “International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union abbreviated to (ILGWU) the company resorted to firing many of their women. In 1909, after the company had taken part in firing women after they tried to join the (ILGWU), it caused an outbreak better working and leading to a "walk-out" of the female garment workers. During the walk-out and strikes, the strikers worked towards having better-working conditions in the clothing factories.

In today’s time, it is almost impossible to to find a building that does not have exit signs or fire extinguishers here in America. Fire drills are regularly practiced in schools and workplaces to ensure the tiniest amount of fatality would not occur. However, it wasn’t like that in the 1900’s. Neither safety issues nor regulations were taken into thought. “The waist industry was flourishing in New York: there were more than five hundred blouse factories, employing upward of forty thousand workers.” In this time of history, the Triangle Waist Company was the largest manufacturer of women’s shirtwaist in the entire country! On March 25, 1911, one hundred and forty six individuals lost their life to what was one of the biggest events in history

On March 25, 1911 a disastrous tragedy hit our nation that forced a needed change in the factory industry. In New York’s Greenwich Village a fire broke out in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, one of the most prominent factories around owned by Mr. Isaac Harris and Mr. Max Blanck. Approximately 146 workers, mostly women, died in this fire, making it the most catastrophic fire incident in New York City. Just before this accident, these same women were on strike for the horrible and unsafe conditions they faced in such factories, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory being the most influential reason for the strike. This accident was more than an accident; it was society neglecting to take action in order to provide safer conditions for female factory workers, it was the lack of care in the nation at the time for women and their rights.

Even after the terrible tragedy happened, the new building the Triangle Waist Company used was not even fire proof and “the firm had already blocked the exit to the fire escape by two rows of sewing machines” (Argersinger, 105). The previous building where the fire had happened would only undergo a few repairs and re-open in the same condition it was in before the fire. This illustrates how the owners of the company did not care much about the safety of their factories, thus it comes as no surprise that the working conditions the shirtwaist makers had to endure were also terrible.

Jill Lepore, is a David Woods Kemper’ 41 professor of America History at Harvard University and a staff writer at The New Yorker. She writes about America history, law, literature and politics. She is consider an American historian, has her B.A. where she teaches American politics history, and focuses on missing evidence in historical record and articles. The purposes for Lepore to write this book “New York Burning” was to rewrite the New York conspiracy of 1741, by using the Horsmanden Journal, she shows how politics and laws were used in the 18th century against the slave and how the white New Yorkers fear of slaves. Lepore used demographic and physical information about New York City, gave reports with a rich context to the historical events,

On October 15, 1910 the factory has a mandatory fire inspection and they pass. A month later, a fire in Newark kills twenty-five workers. This stimulates fire prevention efforts in buildings but again, this warning is ignored. January 15, 1911 is the last time prior to the fire that garbage is taken from the factory. On March 16, another report warning of improper safety standards in New York buildings is published. However, like previous warnings, it is again ignored. Nine days later, at 4:45 PM, just before workers would be released, a fire breaks out on the eighth floor. This fire will take the lives of a 146 unfortunate victims. Most of these victims are those of young woman. Six minutes later, the New York Fire Department (NYFD) arrives on site. By this time, the fire is spreading up to the ninth and tenth floors, which also belong to the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. Those on the eighth floor quickly head down and those on the tenth floor flee to the roof. However, most workers who were on the ninth floor are stranded, unable to move up or down. By 4:47 PM, the last of the bodies from the ninth floor land on the sidewalk, falling from the ninth floor ledge. It is not until 5:05 PM, that the fire is finally taken under control and ten minutes later is described as “all over.” (Stein. Triangle Fire) NYFD fighters head to all the top floors of the building finding many severely burned bodies. Mobs of

The fire, which murdered 146 material specialists, happened in New York City in 1911. The fire murdered the specialists since they were bolted into their working environment and had no chance to get of getting away. One entryway was constantly bolted and the other entryway dependably had a gatekeeper at it. In the result of the flame, the proprietors of the industrial facility were let off with an ostensible fine and no different disciplines. The fire demonstrated that numerous American laborers were compelled to work in extremely perilous conditions.

The tragedy of March 25, 1911 was a crucial turning point and important era of awareness of worker powerlessness during the age of early American industrialization. The fire that consumed the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory remains a haunting memory for this nation. The fates of innocent workers sent a wave of grief throughout the entire nation. The victims died as a result of a serious neglect for safety features within the facility and brought widespread attention to the dangerous working conditions of factories, which led to the development of a series of progressive legislation, and provided more stringent regulations on the safety of workers. This essay will use documents and outside sources to discuss the influence the Triangle Fire had

The working conditions of the new arrivals were hardly any better, as employees of factories were often overworked, underpaid, and penned up in dangerous conditions. Perhaps the horrors of these conditions can be highlighted by the devastating 1911 fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. Tragically, over one hundred young women lost their lives in the fire, as there was no way to get out, and the doors were locked, trapping the women inside. Safety was not the only problem, as workers initially were not given the right to organize into unions, essentially doomed to the repetitive motions of factory operation. This meant that they had no way to protest against child labor, wage slavery, and unhealthily long working hours. Eventually, with their growing clout and ever-present industrial dependence on their labor, workers organized and demanded reform along all aspects of hazardous working conditions.

Tycoons of the Progressive Era did not have the safety and protection in mind of the workers who labored to make their garments. The workers were looked down on and had numerous rules and regulations that were unnecessary to the job, and none that were necessary. In 1911, a fire at the Triangle Waist Company broke out that claimed the lives of many women working on the upper floors of the Asch building. Because of this incident, the conditions that these immigrant women and children worked in were exposed, which in turn led to various reform groups coming together to fight for safer conditions in the workplace.