Triangle Shirtwaist Factory

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Poli-140 4 July 2012 Applying Schattschneider’s Scope of Conflict to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire On March 25, 1911 at 4:40pm, the Asch building owned by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory occupied over 500 employees that were twenty minutes away from shutting down and heading home for the evening. When a fire broke out on the eighth floor, there were very few safety precautions in effect. The only tools employees had to save themselves were 27 buckets of water and a rusty, rickety fire escape. It took five minutes for the authorities to be notified, but the fire fighters were ill equipped to help the suffering worker; their hoses only retch to the sixth floor, and the ladders could only make it between the sixth and seventh floors. As a crowd congregated, people were horrified and captivated by the extent of the anguish. The screaming of hundreds of terrified workers filled the air, as they watched girl after girl jump from the high windows of the Asch building and die with an audible blow. This was not the first time such a crowd assembled in New York City to watch the helpless die in agony, nor would be the last, but this was the final straw for many on working conditions and safety regulations. These outraged audiences, with the aid of the media, were able to improve the safety of workers nationwide. Schattschneider’s Scope of Conflict theory is validated by the success of imposing state and national safety standards, and the development of the New York Factory Commission of 1911. The audience is the most vital participant in any conflict. According to Scattschneider, the outcome of any conflict is determined by the reaction of the audience, and no audience can ever be completely neutral. In the case of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, the audience reacted in two ways: cooperative rescuers and stunned stillness. When the first cries

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