The Triangle Fire

The Triangle fire was a fire that happen in 1911. It killed 145 people. Max blanck and Isaac Harris were owners of the factory. The triangle fire had a strong impact on women and children. The fire happened because The Triangle factory, owned by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris. There was not a lot of space in the factory and the fire mainly happened because of the poor working conditions for example there was no exit signs and the fire escape was very narrow so it would have taking all the worker a very long time to get down The book Triangle The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle talks about a shirtwaist factory fire that happened in 1911 in New York. Several workers died during the fire, most of the people were Jewish immigrants and …show more content…
Most unskilled workers worked in factories. Most of the unskilled workers were immigrants, women and farmers. A lot of immigrants migrated because they wanted to live a better life and get better pay. Farmers and Sharecroppers started working in factories for better conditions. Sharecroppers were easy to treat poorly. Skilled workers were people who were trained to do certain jobs. The skilled workers were harder to replace and be treated poorly because most of them operated as independent craftsmen. They worked for themselves and started businesses from their own houses. Industrialization affected women workers a lot Women workers were desperate for work because men of their household couldn’t support them so they allowed themselves to be treated less then what they should be treated. They wore dirty cloths and worked in hot and sweaty places. In the triangle factory the owners locked the doors so that the workers could not get out. When the fire broke out people were forced to jump from the window. Mostly women worked at this factory. They were locked in as if they were less then human. The women were payed less than men were. Most children and women started working because the man of the household could not support his family on his own. During this time period the workers were working more than 10 hours a day. Also about ten thousand people a year were …show more content…
Labor unions are organizations that represent workers in relation to management. (classnotes). The Knights of Labor is a labor union that was created in 1869. The knights of labor was created by Uriah P. Stephens. This was a very secret labor union during this time period because men who tried to make unions were treated poorly. The knights of labor was a group of people who shared the same interest and wanted the same types of opportunities. The Knights of labor allowed for everyone to join except for “Lawyers, bankers, saloon-keepers and gamblers” (textbook 533). These type of workers were not allowed because they were jobs they were considered well payed during this era and they could not relate to the others that were in the unions. Another union was The American Federation of Labor. This union was also created in 1886. This union organized several different strikes that led to the workers getting paid higher amounts and getting break time. They also disgusted working conditions in the labor union. They purpose of creating these labor unions were to get paid better amount for the members, Make better connections, get protection for the workers and to make peace. These labor were a great thing during this time period because it made them able to have better and more comfortable working conditions. The Women’s Trade Union League was a union that was created in 1903.