Triangle Fire Essay

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Their Lights’ Were Burned Out Too Soon: The Triangle Fire and Its Aftermath What happens when the never satisfied desire of fire meets the incredibly unsafe workplace of over seven hundred workers? The March 25th Triangle Fire had a casualty count of 146 and resulted in many more injured, physically and emotionally. Its origins lie in the workers strike that occurred a few months earlier in September 1909. Long hours of back-breaking work in a sweat shop like environment which only resulted in a meager paycheck that was constantly docked for fines dominated strike complaints (Dutcher 97). Women of all classes protested for months until an uneven settlement was reached between the strikers and the factory owners. This all boiled down to no …show more content…

When the smoke had faded on the burn site of the Triangle fire, concerned citizens wanted action taken to make sure a tragedy on this scale never happened again. This is when two members of the political machine, Tammany Hall, decided to switch from the team of strike breakers and to the reforming team. Alfred Smith and Robert Wagner’s main initiative was to start the Factory Investigating Commission with Governor Dix’s support on June 30th 1911: “ …The nine-member commission received board investigatory power and a charge to propose new laws to protect workers” (Argersinger 31). This group brought to light unsafe and unhealthy work environments in a way that had never been seen by the American public. New protective statutes for women, workplace safety statutes and child labor statutes were passed in response to the findings by the FIC. Public sentiment also compelled the New York state legislature into passing laws “that dealt with specific aspects of the Triangle fire, providing more stringent requirements for fire escapes and fire drills, and stronger regulations against locked doors, blocked exits and aisles, and the presence of combustible materials” in addition to other overall health and safety laws for factory workers (Argersinger 32). Tammany Hall and government officials overall were thrust into action by the Triangle fire and ultimately made factory life better for workers all over New

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