Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Essay

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On March 25, 1911, 146 people died at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City. 6 of them were never identified. Many of those dead died from jumping out of the windows fleeing the fire; jumping seemed better than being burned alive. A woeful lack of fire inspections, fire safety equipment, locked doors, rescue ladders too short to reach upper floors, and other flagrant miscalculations led to the deaths. Unions, still in their infancy, had been striving for better pay & shorter hours, but often, far down the line on their lists of demands was safety. Besides, they still weren’t that effective on getting manufacturers to listen to them. When they called a strike, employers had millions of other immigrant workers eager to fill in as scabs. Cheap manual…show more content…
Politicians, especially Tammany Hall, took notice as well, because the workers could represent a rather large voting block if they came to their aid. Within 2 years Legislation had been passed addressing fire safety, including automatic sprinklers, fire drills, women and children were given new protections, and the amazing 54-hour-work-week –bill. While everyone was still out for blood, the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory were tried for one of the deaths on the day of the fire. The trial work and evidence was fairly sloppy and they were acquitted. Still, the rest of the workers of New York really reaped the benefits of the changes that the fire started. Stronger unions and stronger laws protecting buildings, owners, & ultimately the workers won. Oh, but at what a price. 146 dead, 6 with no name to this day. This book was interesting because it wasn’t just a play-by-play of the fire. The first portion talks about the strikes in the garment industry just prior to the fire. It sets the stage, you might say, for what they were fighting for and what was to
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