The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was an event that held relevance in American history. On March, 25, 1911 at approximately 4:40 PM a fire broke out in the company's factory in New York City which was the deadliest industrial disaster. 147 workers died in that incident, they either died from the fire or jumped from the window. It was considered the most tragic fire incident in New York City. "The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies' Garment workers' Union, which fought for better and safer working conditions for sweatshop workers in that industry" (Wikipedia) The fire occurred due to the poor and unsafe working condition in the factory.
| Throughout our nation’s history, great disasters have prompted major changes in society—turning points with an undeniable impact on American civilization. In the case of the infamous 1911 New York City fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, it took the tragic loss of 146 lives to help put fundamental workplace health and safety considerations on the national agenda. The Triangle Factory Fire’s loss of life was fueled by non-existent fire prevention measures, inadequate safety codes, lack of proper firefighting equipment, poorly planned fire escapes, and inaccessible exits. The aftermath of the fire would be the catalyst for three key changes to our industrialized nation: improved fire codes, healthier working conditions for labor workers, and increased factory safety standards. The Triangle Shirtwaist Company made shirtwaist style ladies’ blouses, popularized in an expanding retail market for ‘ready to wear’ clothing.
Tenement houses within these cities became incredibly crowded and crammed along narrow paths or streets. Whole families were living in attics, cellars, or single rooms, with one house holding up to 60 people in multiple rooms. Sanitation was not common in a lot of cities even making clean water for the rich a luxury. Sewers ran down streets, wide-open, carrying water fouled with industrial and human waste. Tuberculosis, typhoid and cholera were diseases that developed in many cities killing thousands.
Steam trains and train tracks were being built to expand access across the United States. We also saw the production and use of steam boats which were used to transport people and products across the county which had vastly changed from the horse and buggy days (Annenberg 2013). The two most significant social consequences of this time were living conditions and labor laws. The living conditions were poor. Most people who worked in the factories lived in the factories which had little living space, lack of proper ventilation and lack of proper hygiene (Wikipedia).
Because each day the population of peasants and workers grow and it seemed like Russia was getting smaller and smaller so that there wouldn’t be enough land to build houses so The farms usually would get houses but the houses would be over populated in at one room there would be ten they lived in very sympathetic conditions the houses we re close together and didn’t have windows which is an unhealthy sate. Source 3 also supports it shows a persons complained on bloody Sunday “they receive miserable wages and generally live in an over crowed space .a woman takes several in her own and subletting to each one and it is common to see ten or more peasants and four sleeping in one bed!! !””
Immigrants worked in sweatshops that were dangerous. Many immigrant workers were killed and injured (OK). Even young children worked in these dangerous factories (OK). Reformers and Progressives got laws passed to prohibit child labor. They also got a minimum wage set for women (Document 3).
The Effects of the Black Death The bubonic plague of the fourteenth century caused not only pain and death, but also the formation of new ideas to help Europe after the economic slump they had been in for decades. The plague, which started in Asia, spread throughout all of Europe killing a third of the European population. No one was safe from the pestilence; clergy and nobles died along with the peasants and scum of every infected area. This sickness, that was spread so easily, managed to leave complete wreckage in its path. John Kelly writes about how the Black Death changed everyone’s lifestyle, changing Europe politically, economically, and socially.
They specialized in making shirtwaists, the very popular women's blouse that had a tight waist and puffy sleeves. Approximately 500 people, mostly immigrant women, worked at the Triangle Waist Company's factory in the Asch Building. They worked long hours, six days a week, in cramped quarters and were paid low wages. Many of the workers were young, some only age 13 or 14. On Saturday, March 25, 1911, a fire started on the eighth floor.
1/3 of all Russian babies died before their first birthday. Russia was flailing WWI, unemployment was high – a classic formula for dissent. The partial industrialization of Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which created an urban working class in places like St. Petersburg and Moscow that could organize against its exploitation through unions and workers councils (known as 'the soviets'). This enabled the workers to work together much more effectively against their bosses than the scattered, isolated, and thus largely de-politicized peasantry. The cities were also connected via trade and communication to the outside world, where intellectuals and workers alike had access to revolutionary ideas from Western Europe such as Marxism.
Friday, April 26, 2013 - 12:00pm PDT by JONATHAN NETTLER Architecture, South Asia 5 1 0 As the death tool passes 300 from the horrific collapse of an 8-story garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, thoughts turn to New York City's Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911. Can some good follow this disaster, as it did in New York? The nototrious Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was New York City's second deadliest disaster until the collapse of the World Trade Center in 2001. It was also the instigation for significant reforms in working conditions and building safety. According to Wikipedia, as a result of the fire that killed 146 garment workers, "[n]ew laws mandated better building access and egress, fireproofing requirements, the availability of fire extinguishers, the installation of alarm systems and automatic sprinklers, better eating and toilet facilities for workers, and limited the number of hours that women and children could work."