Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

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The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire was remembered as one of the most infamous incidents in American industrial history. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was owned by Max Blank and Isaac Harris. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory grew quickly as Max and Isaac moved their business from a little shop by 1901 to the new ten-story Asch building at the top three floors. There were approximately five hundred workers who worked in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company at the time while the fire broke out. The workers were mostly Jewish and Italian immigrant women (Campbell 210-212). The incident happened in Manhattan, New York City in March, 25, 1911; also, as one important event that held relevance in American .This incident was the deadliest industrial disaster. 146 workers died, and they either died from the fire or jumped from the window. They jumped out from the window because the fire trucks’ ladders could only reach up to the seventh floor. After the incident, there were demands for enhanced law to protect workers health and safety, including factory fire codes and child labor law that helped shape future labor laws; however, there was evidence that the fire wouldn’t have happened if the company owners had listened to the warnings, and the owners were found unfairly not guilty in the court.
As the incident wasn’t over, there were many photographers taken photos; however, there was only one photo that was sad when everyone first saw the photo. The photo was taken by the Brown Brothers, and was remembered in the past and even today (Todd 11). They were sad that there were dead bodies on the ground. There were policemen and other people standing near the bodies of victims on the Green Street sidewalk in the photo. Most of the victims were w...

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...nd guilty as killing nearly a hundred fifty innocent, immigrant people. Another ridiculous thing is that Blanck and Harris were may be very selfish; as they wanted to earn extra money from insurance without caring the safety of the workers. According to Tony Sanchez, he state, “Instead of providing costly safety measures, Blanck and Harris had opted to buy larger insurance policies, despite extremely high rates. Although they were considered notoriously bad risks with a history of seven previous claims, they had no difficulty purchasing insurance” (65). However, the most ridiculous thing is that they can open their factory again. According to Ballard Campbell, he state, “Blanck and Harris went free and reopened their business” (212). If this tragic event happens again today, the owner certainly will be guilty; also, the owner will never can reopen the company again.

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