ipl-logo

Essay On Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

1576 Words7 Pages

The detrimental Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire is considered to be one of the most tragic disasters in history. On March 25th, 1911, a fire broke out and killed 146 garment workers who were mostly women. These women worked countless hours with low wages and inhumane working conditions in a factory. Even though this event was tragic, the triangle shirtwaist fire helped to shape the new world for the better. The multitude of workers trapped within the inferno to their demise was the final straw for the mistreatment of America’s workers. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire led to imperative reforms that sought for adequate conditions for workers and the advent of the Progressive Era. (Source 2). The United States was in the middle of the Second Industrial Revolution at the beginning of the twentieth century. Many of the rural population migrated into cities for jobs, while immigrants from Europe also added to the growth of the cities. As a result, from 1860 to 1900 alone, the number of urban areas in the United States expanded fivefold (Source 2). The immigrants who desperately needed employment and the greed of factory owners made the rise of sweat shops astonishing. Around the country low-paid immigrants, including women and children, worked for excessively long …show more content…

After the fire, the horrible event made factories transparent to Americans and Americans realized that industrial workers were being treated unfairly. The tragedy exposed the inhumane working conditions that the industrial workers had to the government also, so social reform became the nation’s number one issue to focus on. Countless state and federal laws were passed in direct relation to this incident. This event affects Americans today because it played a key role in the laws and regulation we have in the

Show More
Related
233 Words | 1 Pages

At this time in the eastern United States labor systems and the use of immigrant labor

Read More
801 Words | 4 Pages

Finally, they have revealed the cause of the fire. According to the Triangle book, cigarette was the cause of the fire and due to the cottons (which is flammable), oxygen (explosively) papers, woods, and materials it grew bigger and blazed the workers killing them in instant that they had no time to

Read More
521 Words | 3 Pages

It was known as a true sweatshop. The workers were mostly young immigrant women who did not speck English, which worked twelve hour days every day. Noticing that safety laws weren’t permitted then neither were child labor laws. There were only four elevators that reached the floors which the Factory was located. Unfortunately only one of those elevators was working at the time of the fire.

Read More
239 Words | 1 Pages

The article "The Factory Girl 's Danger", Written by Miriam Finn Scott, discusses the danger of working in a progressive era factory in a skyscraper typical in the New York area. Referenced in her paper is the tragedy known as The Triangle Factory Fire in which 146 workers, mostly young girls, "were charred bodies heaped up behind doors they had vainly tried to beat down, or were unrecognizable pulp upon the street far below"(10,Scott). Miriam also goes further into detail pertaining to the lives of 2 sisters one of whom was killed in the fire. Her article on the triangle factory fire brought the public 's attention to the atrocious conditions these women worked in, Furthermore, it shined a personal light on what otherwise would just been

Read More
239 Words | 1 Pages

Another result of the Triangle Factory fire that resulted in change in the American workplace was the attempts of labor unions and strikes. Prior to the fire, in 1909, one of the more notable strikes dubbed the "Uprising of 20,000" was organized primarily by female immigrant garment workers because of the awful conditions, long hours, and low wages they were made to work in due to the lack of options available to them (Pool, 2012). The primary challenge was to get attention paid to the mistreatment of immigrant workers. While there were short term agreements for their demands, the strike ultimately failed, however where it did succeed was exposing poor working conditions and stirring a debate about what counted as public and private (Pool,

Read More
841 Words | 4 Pages

Long ago, in the year of 1901 the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was opened by Isaac Harris and Max Blank. Max Blank and Isaac Harris were both born in Russia, They had both immigrated to the United States in the early, 1890’s like most other Jewish immigrants. After a decade Isaac and Max entered a partnership that would propel their business and be nicknamed the Shirtwaist Kings. Then One Day their business Disappeared. It was taken by a deadly fire.

Read More
1154 Words | 5 Pages

Imagine being an immigrant with no money to provide for yourself or your family. You have to turn to work in a Shirtwaist Factory in order to make a living. While working inside of the Shirtwaist Factory you notice there are many injuries that occur from the machinery, you are being lowly paid for working extended hours, including holidays, and the bosses lock the exit doors to prevent theft by the workers. Many of the immigrant women became upset and decide to go on strike, for better working conditions. As a result the owners of the company ignore the women's strike causing the women to have to go back to working unfair jobs until the fire occurs.

Read More
443 Words | 2 Pages

There was a great rise in the number of Europeans coming into the country for better lives and opportunities. These individuals were desperate for any source of income, anything that they could do to help themselves and their family survive. The factory owners took advantage of their situation which gave rise to "sweat shops" in which low paid immigrants, including women and children were made to work excessive hours in the most unsafe conditions. Much of the tragedy which took place could have been avoided, but many of the safety conditions at the building made it nearly impossible for them to do so. Even though efforts were made in the previous years to strike against the owners to provide better working conditions, these efforts did not help those individuals who worked at factories where the owners had refused to give into the demands of the works, one of which was the Triangle Shirtwaist Company.

Read More
477 Words | 2 Pages

On March 25th, 1911, a fire started in New York City, becoming the deadliest fire in New York City’s history. The workers who worked at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on the 9th floor were locked in the building. In total 147 people died in the fire. The Factory Owners should bear responsibility for the fire.

Read More
880 Words | 4 Pages

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire The Fire And Its Causes The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire was one of New Yorks deadliest work place fires. It happened on March 25th, 1911 and would end up destroying the upper three floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Many people would die from being burned alive or jumping out of the building trying to escape the fire thinking they could maybe survive the fall. This fire would take many lives approximately one hundred and forty six people. Out of the one hundred and forty six people, one hundred and twenty six people were young women who worked at the factory.

Read More
1072 Words | 5 Pages

The New York Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire is infamous as one of the deadliest industrial disasters in United States history. However, it is was a turning point for American labor. The public outrage that erupted following the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire was the primary force behind the expansion of labor laws in the United States of America. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire led to the expansion of labor laws because of its conditions.

Read More
2144 Words | 9 Pages

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, New York City, 1911 this was a high-rise building. Someone threw a cigarette into a bin containing strap metal material, causing it to ignite, killed 250 employees on the ninth floor” (Sturzenbecker, Adams, and Burnside, 2012, p.9-10). This was a look at a fires that injured and killed occupants. The fire service as a whole has come a long way in life safety and property conservation. The fire service achieved this by adopting rules and codes and improving the fire protection systems.

Read More
410 Words | 2 Pages

In the eighth grade, my friends and I joined a program called History Day, completely on a whim. We had no experience and we barely knew what the program was, but we were very excited to try something new. When we got started on our project, we decided to do a performance on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911. Out of the five of us, not one person had done a historical performance before, and so with no experience we began our research. As we learned everything there was to learn about this event, we became more and more passionate about the topic.

Read More
1887 Words | 8 Pages

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire forced politicians and the public to face the consequences of inaction; changed views regarding public and state responsibility for worker’s safety and caused profound and rapid changes to occupational safety laws. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was located at No. 23-29 Washington Place at the corner of Greene Street not far from the popular Washington Square Park. The factory was housed in the well-built ten story Asch Building and occupied the top three floors. The Triangle Shirtwaist Company was owned by Isaac Harris and Max Blanck, and produced popular collared, puffy-sleeved shirts.

Read More
1161 Words | 5 Pages

“Had the department been able to get up close to the church, water could have been thrown on the roof, but as it was, they were unable to get within striking distance and there were no ladders of sufficient length available.” There have been so many fires it is hard to count them all. To start out with, the fire that took the Baptist church is one. Next, there is the Methodist church, which the same fire took a livery barn also. Lastly, there is the Mental Health Institute, in which the fire destroyed part of the building.

Read More

More about Essay On Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Open Document