Research Paper On The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory

987 Words4 Pages

The Owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire started on March 25, 1911. No one knows the real cause of the fire, but many people believe it was a cigarette bud tossed into a scrap bin. Out of the 500 employees that showed up to work that day, 146 died and another 71 were injured. The amount of deaths were very tragic. In my essay I am going to be telling about the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and how the fire impacted their lives. My topic is the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and their role in regards to the factory and how the fire impacted them and their lives. The owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory were Max Blanck and Isaac Harris. They both immigrated from Russia …show more content…

Max Blanck was one half of the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. He was born in Russia and immigrated to the United States in the 1890s. “He then proceeded to become an entrepreneur, and in 1895 he became a garment contractor” (PBS blog Shirtwaist Kings par. 2). Max Blanck’s role was being the salesman. He was always meeting with potential customers and buyers and traveling to stores that carried their product. Max Blanck was upset in the loss of all of the employees and …show more content…

It was held in the courtroom of Judge Thomas Crain. Harris and Blanck hired Max D. Steuer as their lawyer. People filled up the courtroom calling out that Blanck and Harris were “murderers” and yelling “we want our children back.” 160 total witnesses were presented for both sides, but Kate Alterman’s story was a big factor in deciding if the owners were guilty or innocent. She stated “I wanted to go up Greene street side, but the whole door was in flames, so I went in hid myself in the toilet rooms and bent my face over the sink, and then ran to the Washington side elevator, but there was a big crowd and I couldn't pass through there. I noticed someone, a whole crowd around the door, and I saw the Bernstein, the manager's brother trying to open the door, and there was Margaret near him. Bernstein tried the door, he couldn't open it and then Margaret began to open the door. I take her on one side I pushed her on the side and I said, "Wait, I will open that door." I tried, pulled the handle in and out, all ways--and I couldn't open it. She pushed me on the other side, got hold of the handle and then she tried. And then I saw her bending down on her knees, and her hair was loose, and the trail of her dress was a little far from her, and then a big smoke came and I couldn't see. I just know it was Margaret, and I said, "Margaret," and she didn't reply. I left Margaret, I turned my head on the side, and I noticed the trail of