Research Paper On The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire 1911

March 25, 1911 is a very memorable date. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York caught on fire. Not just any type of fire, a fire that killed many people and made things more safe for us 100 years later. The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of March 25, 1911 was a disaster of epic proportion and created changes in law because 146 people died, the building was claimed fireproof, and there was a strike going on for workers rights. First, a lot of workers lost their lives. According to the book Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix, 146 people had died in the fire. Foreign girls worked in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. According to source 1, it says Italian, Russian, Hungarian, and German girls worked and died. That was a big thing because during that time period only men worked, and was even bigger because the girls died from working. Also, since most of the girls were foreign, they had no one to identify their body. According to source 4, bodies were put in coffins in lines for anyone related to the victim to identify. If the body was identified, the coffin was closed and the put aside for the family to

Most of the people who were working in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory were on a strike before the fire for working rights and safety precautions. If the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory followed the safety precautions the strike was proposing, the fire could have been prevented, and would have saved many lives. According to source 5, the doors were locked, long wooden tables became obstacles, and boxes crowded the exit. All of that could have easily been prevented. Also, higher class people were also involved in the strike which made it bigger and more popular to people. Higher class people were considered the best and at the top, so if the higher class people were in the strike, it would make it seem like the strike was important. That is another reason why the fire was a disaster of epic