Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire In American History

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire is remembered as an eventful day in American history. The increasing population of immigrants to industrial cities and the poor working conditions caused the deaths of 123 women and 23 men. The Progressive’s attempt to better safety and working conditions inspired the formation of labor unions but conflicted with the role of political machines during the rise of Industrialism. The Triangle Factory, owned by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, was located in the top three floors of the Asch Building, on the corner of Greene Street and Washington Place in Manhattan. This sweatshop was “an impressively utilitarian new ten-story skyscraper that Harris and Blanck had taken a lease on the ninth floor that was thirty

Technological advancements increased the nation’s efficiency and created an improved standard of living. The population increased and cities grew as foreign immigrants made their way to pursue the American dream. A wave of immigrants flooded into the United States soon after the Civil War. Most of them could not even speak English, but they left their homes in pursuit of freedom, rights, and overall better lives. Thousands of people were in search of jobs during this time. The most common way to earn a living was to suffer the hardships and become a factory employee. As they hoped for an opportunity they never thought was possible, “over five hundred or more employees worked the Triangle Waist Company. It was the largest blouse-making operation in New York, dispersing two thousand garments per day.” Judging by the size of the company, one would think there would be an emergency plan in the event of a disaster, but that clearly was not the

This tragedy also fueled the creation of unions as they attempted to improve the factory conditions. The emergence of Progressivism was scientific and was driven by the idea of progress, “Progressivism, a gospel of the new and improved. Progressives supported the vote for women, protection for consumers and workers, and trade unionism. Progressivism was a mind-set.” This new idea grew rapidly and was even supported by wealthy capitalists and public figures. For example, Anne Morgan was an active supporter who “learned the details of the shirtwaist strike, she was moved.” With her participation, she produced tremendous amounts of support and helped raise “roughly $20,000… Anne Morgan’s own contributions were widely rumored to be much larger.” Even though Progressivism was new and rapidly growing in support to improve the human condition, there were people opposed to the idea who wanted it to be terminated. Tammany leaders did not see eye-to-eye with the progressives and said, “Reformers rarely accomplish anything, beyond cutting patronage jobs and closing neighborhood saloons.” Overall, Tammany feared the progressives because of their desire for a civil service system that was a “bullet aimed directly at the heart of the machine.” The Progressive movement would interfere with political