“The Fire That Changed America”

Katie Dunleavy Hist 2100

November 30, 2014

A look into the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

“The ‘Triangle’ company...With blood this name will be written in the history of the American workers’ movement, and with feeling will this history recall the names of the

strikers of this shop- of the crusaders”

Jewish Daily ForwardJanuary 10, 1910

(Drehle)

Background:1900-1920● The new age of industrialized began to transform the

American society.

● The new advances in technology led to new industries which opened up the job market for millions of Americans. Along with the millions of jobs, the new advances led to millions

of new immigrants looking for jobs. (Rosenzweig)

Garment Industries● Many of the immigrants found themselves working in the garment industries.

o This particular industry had doubled in size between 1900-1910 (Argersinger, 3).

● Consumers were looking for something in style, convenient, and reasonably priced. Because of this, there was a higher demand for quantity which caused

issues that affected the worker’s lives.● Hours worked, general safety, money earned, and child labor all came into

play and affected the way labor was seen.o Half a million workers were injured and 30,000 people died each year due

to work related issues (Argersinger, 2).

ProgressivesProgressives were a group of reformers from diverse socioeconomic

backgrounds that united together for one cause: improving working conditions of industrial life.

The Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL) was a progressive union group established in 1903 that fought for better conditions for women in the

workplace.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Company was their primary target.

“All working women, whether native born or immigrant, deserved respect and recognition in the workplace and in society”

-WTUL(Argersinger)

The Shirtwaist“A striking innovation in women’s clothes” (Agersinger, 5)

Women were used to Victorian style dresses that made it nearly impossible to move freely. Instead of the stiff, tight, and

frilly garb usually worn, the shirtwaist was a lightweight, high necked cotton blouse that allowed for more freedom. The

shirtwaist could be worn with a simple skirt and was also decently priced garment. However, this inexpensive price was not affordable by the factory workers who produced it and caused

their workload to double. (PBS)

Triangle Shirtwaist Co.The Triangle Shirtwaist Company was established by in-laws Max

Blanck & Isaac Harris in 1900.The two established an “inside shop” that produced all steps of the manufacturing under one roof. As the shirtwaist popularity grew, the company inhabited the top three floors (levels 8, 9, and 10) of the Asch building in the lower east side in New York

City. (Argersinger, 5)

Blanck and Harris had a reputation for pushing their workers to the limits and were always sure to threaten them away from

unions so they stayed unscathed by union strikes.

Triangle Shirtwaist Company Employees

Employees at the Triangle Company were mostly young women and immigrant women. Most of the time these women had families and were the main providing mothers.These young women were poor, barely spoke english, and were uneducated. Most of the women were Jewish or Italian. Because of this, they were taken advantage of. Max Blanck, specifically, liked to hire immigrant women because they would work more time for less wages than a man. Not only that, but they were also paying them less than they would an American born women. The company did not hire men for that fact that they would have to pay them more and they would indefinitely

be protected by labor organizations.The factory posed major risks which made the Triangle Company one of the top

targets of reform by the unions. The rapid pace of work led to frequent accidents and the rows of sewing machines in extremely close quarters made employees

susceptible to injury and catching disease.

March 25, 1911

March 25, 1911 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Image_of_Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire_on_March_25_-

_1911.jpg

Around 4:45pm, the young workers ended their shift and were slowly gathering their belongings. They nonchalantly started lining up for their mandatory bag checks, not knowing the

impending chaos.Fire broke out on the bottom floor of the factory, eighth floor of the Asch building. It quickly became uncontrollable as gusts of wind came from the windows and open elevators, only feeding the fire. The fire grew to the ceiling and split the room in two, immobilizing the workers. Staircases were locked shut and none of the employees were aware of fire escapes due to lack of

fire drills. (Stein)

March 25, 1911

March 25, 1911 cntd.Executives who occupied the 10th floor, escaped unscathed as they passed the 8th and 9th floors multiple times knowing the fate of the workers, smelling the fire

and hearing the cries. (Stein, 43)The 9th floor was not even aware of the fire until it completely engulfed them. Hundreds of the employees were sucked into the flames as the floor collapsed

beneath them into the 8th floor. (Stein, 51)Girls resorted to jumping out of windows to escape the fire, but ended up injuring themselves or jumping to their demise. By the next morning, the

sidewalks were covered with bodies of victims who jumped to escape flames.(Stein, 40)

146 people died; 123 were young women workers who were the main support of their immigrant families. (Stein, 109)

It is the second most deadly work related accident in New York City history until September 11, 2001. (Argersinger, 20)

Victims who tried to escape the firehttp://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/03/21/nyregion/TRIANGLE1/TRIANGLE1-b80.jpg

AftermathThe fire was of start of the motivation of public and political support to reform the workplace and the working conditions for the worker’s

benefit. The Triangle Shirtwaist factory soon became the “poster child” for the union’s campaign.

“The fire represented the exploitation of all factory workers and the unregulated industrial capitalism” (Argersinger, 4)

City officials tried to look for someone or something to blame. There were fire escapes that were open to use, but none of the members knew how to work them. Investigators left it at that there should have been direction and “placards in their languages telling them how to get out in case of fire. There should be fire drills. Quick exit is essential.”

(Stein, 121)

Aftermath cntd.A few blocks from the old factory, Isaac Harris and Max Blanck were back at work at another factory. They were swiftly found and taken to court. April 12 1911, both men were charged with six counts of manslaughter, two stemming from the 146 deaths during the fire. One count on the locked doors that caused the death of a sewing machine operator, and a second that concerned another death of an operator

due to the close proximity and clutter of the factory space. (Drehle, 220).The men were found not guilty after a two and a half hour trial.

A year later in March 1912, they were tried again. Three years later in 1914, 23 individual cases were filed against the Asch building to which each life perished

had a recovery of $75. (Drehle, 226).Later on an insurance policy paid back Harris and Blanck for the employee loss a

total of $600,000. (U.S. Dept. of labor)

Aftermath today

Because of this, New York City has made the country’s strongest worker protection laws. After the fire, they addressed the

safety laws and became a model of what the rest of the country should follow.

The fire, although deadly and an awful scene, lead to the changes that needed to be made for an employee's benefit. Many

of these changes and guidelines are still apparent today.

Works Cited"Aftermath." U.S. Department of Labor -. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2014.

"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2014.

Argersinger, Jo Ann E. "9780312464523." : The Triangle Fire: A Brief History with Documents (Bedford Series in History and

Culture). Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2009. Web. 22 Nov. 2014.

Drehle, David Von. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America. New York: Atlantic Monthly, 2003. Print.

Rosenzweig, Roy, Nelson Lichtenstein, Joshua Brown, David Jaffee, and Stephen Brier. "5." Who Built America?: Working People

and the Nation's History. Boston: Beford/St. Martin's, 2008. 225-30. Print.

Stein, Leon. The Triangle Fire. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 2001. Print.