Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

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Recommended: Life during the 1800's

Life in the early 1900’s wasn’t easy. Competition for jobs was at an all time high, especially in New York City. Immigrants were flooding in and needed to find work fast, even if that meant in the hot, overcrowded conditions of garment factories. Conditions were horrid and disaster was inevitable, and disaster did strike in March, 1911. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York set on fire, killing 146 workers. This is an important event in US history because it helped accomplish the tasks unions and strikes had tried to accomplish years earlier, It improved working conditions in factories nationwide and set new safety laws and regulations so that nothing as catastrophic would happen again. The workplace struggles became public after this fire, and the work industry would never remain the same again. Society was changing in the late 1800’s. Women and children entered the work field and competition was very high to get jobs. Even though more women worked during this time than ever before companies still preferred males for most jobs of authority or higher pay. It was impossible for women and children to make anywhere near as much as males. Also, African Americans faced struggles while searching for jobs. This ethnicity was often stuck in unskilled labor tasks and women of this race had extremely limited job options, commonly domestic servants and laundresses. African Americans living in the north did indeed gain better social and economic positions compared to living in the south. The main discriminating factor during this time was white vs. blue collar jobs. White collar jobs would consist of higher class citizens who would earn higher pay and often had more education. In comparison blue collar jobs could be obtained by almos... ... middle of paper ... ...ert. Flesh and blood so cheap: the Triangle fire and its legacy. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. Print. "Topics for Work." America at Work / America at Leisure, 1894-1915. Library of Congress: American Memory, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. . "The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911." The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911. California State University, Northridge, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. . "The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Trial." The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Trial. University of Missouri- Kansas City, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. . "The Uprising of the 20,000." The Triangle Fire: One Hundred Years After. Labor Arts, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. .

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