The Impact Of The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was a sweatshop that mass produced a popular clothing item called, shirtwaist dresses. The majority of the workers were women and young girls. The average age consisted of women in their teens and twenties. Most of these factory workers were Russian Jew and Italian immigrants. They worked inside of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory sweatshop for long hours, low pay, and in hazardous conditions. On March 25, 1911 a fire broke out on the eighth floor of the Asch Building in New York City. This horrific fire greatly impacted the nation. The death of 146 workers in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire were caused by negligence on the part of the owners of the factory and the laissez-faire practices of the state of New York

Facing difficulties in Europe, many Europeans sought refuge and work in the United States. The “new” immigrants, who were unskilled and illiterate, found jobs in factories(Davidson and Stoff[Page 603]). In an effort to increase profits, industrialists forced their workers to work for long hours, with minimum wages, and sometimes under hazardous conditions. Some Americans began to form Labor Unions. The purpose of Labor Unions was to protect workers rights. When talks and compromise failed, Labor Unions would strike to achieve their goal. Different Labor Unions had differential beliefs. The Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor (AFL) were two Labor Unions that advocated for shorter hours, better pay, and imporved working conditions, The Knights of Labor believed in no child labor, and equal pay for immigrants, African Americans, and unskilled workers. They believed both men and women should also get equal pay. However, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) only hired skilled workers. They advocated for shorter hours, better

103 witnesses were brought to the stand by the prosecutor, Charles Bostwick. He claimed he would prove that the Washington Place door was locked on the ninth floor to prevent the workers from escaping. He mainly wanted to prove how the locked door caused the death of Margaret Schwartz(‘The Triangle”). The jury finally concluded to the ruling of not guilty. One juror stated, “I believe that the door was locked at the time of the fire, but we couldn’t find them guilty unless we believed they knew the door was locked”(“The Triangle”). Blanck and Harris would have to pay $75 per victim. However, they got $60,000 for insurance. This meaning they earned $411 per victim. Later on in 1913 Blank would be fined $20 for locking doors in another factory.

After the tragic fire safety laws and regulations were made by the state and federal government. The Legislature in Congress immediately set up an investigation to see what caused fire. While exploring the factory the investigators found many safety and health violations. After 222 witness interviews and investigating 1,836 places of businesses there was a proposal by the Commission for certain laws. From 1911 to 1914, there were 36 new authorized laws to improve the labor codes of the state. This was known as the “the golden era in remedial factory legislation”(Laws and