During the Gilded Age in the 1870’s-1900’s violence, racism, abuse, etc., was going on but it was being hidden by the growth between the industries and wealth. “Immigrants would come from Europe and China, to make the new labor force” (Zinn). Europeans and Chinese would cross many oceans and sacrifice their life’s to hope for a better future living in America and after they came to America they would get hired at some job and not make enough money and sometimes were being beaten. “The urban workmen are denied the right of organization for self-protection; imported pauperized labor beats down their wages;” (Zinn). This connects to the documentary video, Rape in the Fields, because many women that were working in the fields suffering as much …show more content…
This situation can still be remaining not only in the fields but at other jobs and even though many of the woman had spoken up for themselves and went to the Department of Justice. “The Evans case has changed Washington because now they do trainings in sexual harrasmant and get true mangers who know how to truly report sexual harassment” (Frontline/ Bergman). The training of sexual harassment has helped because by putting that training in the workforce and the managers now feel obligated to report any situation. “The U Visa program would protect victims of crime, rape, kidnapping and sexual assault from being deported it would be so that victims can stay in the country and testify against the perpetrators and protect the victims” (Frontline/ Bergman). This U Visa program did put a lot of women in the calmer side because if they knew now if they were being assaulted they were fine to report and not be scared anymore to be …show more content…
“Terrible forces seemed out of control and the nation seemed imperiled. Farmers and workers had been waging political war against capitalists and political conservatives for decades, but then, slowly, toward the end of the nineteenth century a new generation of middle class Americans interjected themselves into public life and advocated new reforms to tame the runaway world of the Gilded Age” (American Yawp). Until one of the major tragedy happened known as the Triangle Shirtwaist were the factory was caught fire and many women had died or were injured. Events such as the Triangle Shirtwaist fire convinced many Americans of the need for reform, but the energies of activists were needed to spread a new commitment to political activism and government interference in the economy” (American Yawp). This is similar to the documentary video, A Dangerous Business, because, “workers had become injured in the McWane Corporation, safety was sacrificed to increase productivity” (Frontline/ Bergman). “Few years passed till OSHA found many violations but still owners would still put their workers at risk breaking violations time passed and suddenly they had too many violations that McWane had spent $5 million to develop a self-contaminated water treatment system, eliminated hazards, hired
On July 13, 1900 Joseph Aschs’ new building plans in New York City are approved and by January 5, 1901 the building is complete. In 1906, the eighth floor of the Asch building is bought by the Triangle Shirtwaist Company who opens a factory there. Three years later, a letter is sent to the management of the Triangle Shirtwaist building from a fire prevention expert. He suggests they that a discussion about evaluating and enhancing safety measures. Unfortunately, management does not take the letter seriously and “the letter is ignored.” (Linder, “Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Trial”) The inhumane work conditions in the factory led to the decision of twenty-five ILGWU workers to declare strike against th...
...s leading up to the fire and the aftermath of the event that makes this event so influential and important. The reforms made afterwards within New York legislation soon spread across the nation, and to almost every manufacturer in the country. It changed how workers were treated, the conditions in which they worked, and other legalities that protected their rights as workers and as human beings. This event also lead to the changing of lives through recognition women within the workforce, to women holding office in national politics, and eventually women’s suffrage. The fire impacted reformers and thinkers who went on to create the ideals within the New Deal. The majority of the legislation that was passed because of the outcome of the fire is still in effect today, over 100 years later. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire changed the nation’s workforce completely.
In the late nineteenth century, many European immigrants traveled to the United States in search of a better life and good fortune. The unskilled industries of the Eastern United States eagerly employed these men who were willing to work long hours for low wages just to earn their food and board. Among the most heavily recruiting industries were the railroads and the steel mills of Western Pennsylvania. Particularly in the steel mills, the working conditions for these immigrants were very dangerous. Many men lost their lives to these giant steel-making machines. The immigrants suffered the most and also worked the most hours for the least amount of money. Living conditions were also poor, and often these immigrants would barely have enough money and time to do anything but work, eat, and sleep. There was also a continuous struggle between the workers and the owners of the mills, the capitalists. The capitalists were a very small, elite group of rich men who held most of the wealth in their industries. Strikes broke out often, some ending in violence and death. Many workers had no political freedom or even a voice in the company that employed them. However, through all of these hardships, the immigrants continued their struggle for a better life.
During the Gilded Age, the post-Civil War and post-Reconstruction era, manufacturing, construction and factory jobs; inventions; and new ways of working were introduced at an unprecedented rate. This brought about a tremendous level of efficiency generating increased profitability for business leaders. It was a common practice at the time to exploit overwork and underpay workers. Working conditions were dangerous and children were a part of this labor pool that worked long hours for little pay. The influx of European immigrants, produced what seemed to be an endless supply of cheap labor.
The owners of the factories in New England, like in Lowell, Massachusetts, oppressed young girls by being careless with their safety. It was already terrible that women made one-eighth of what men made; their affordability for employers made girls, especially immigrants, desirable to save money. That could be the cause of the employer’s lack of regard for their safety. In the factories, from sunrise to sunset, women, men, and children had to breathe in unhealthy and unventilated air. In addition, men and women were being injured and killed because of hazardous surroundings, as Mary S. Paul writes to her father, “My life and health are spared while others are cut off.” Workers have been breaking their necks and ribs and being killed by cars (Doc F). It is an employer’s responsibility to keep his/her employees safe because, in reality, it would be in their interest to keep their workers alive to make them money. Still the girl’s well-being and interests were ignored because it would trouble the factory owners. As a result of the owner’s profiteering, employees were dying.
The decade following the Reconstruction Era in American history is brilliantly and descriptively named; the Gilded Age was coated with superficial prosperity which buried its hardships that laid within its core. The rise of big business grabbed American’s attention---whether it was in a positive or negative notion--- and the United State’s focus on minorities declined. Women in the Gilded Age were continuous victims to inequality in contrast to their male counterparts, and the opportunity to pursue their own economic quickly turned into another element of inequality between the genders. On the other hand, the general working class quickly were slaves to big business and the new factory system. Working conditions and wages were unbearable,
When 15,000 workers walk out of a factory in one day and start a picket line, it’s bound to catch the interest of the press. But when the strike lasts for 14 weeks and shuts down a shirtwaist plant, they mean business. Especially when the strike, lead by all women in the early 1900s, something completely unheard of. In the 1910s women had about as many rights as blacks did, and though they had “freedom” they were discriminated by color all the same. At the start of an industrial revolution immigration to the cities was colossal, many people lived in ghettos and learned that good, well paying jobs were often hard to find. Low income meant that large families had a hard time paying their bills. No money to pay the bills lead to women and children dropping out of school and going to work in large overcrowded factories. When the heat and the pressure of large amounts of work and not enough pay became too much for them they decided to revolt. While women were arrested and sent to workhouses slowing progression, the Uprising of the 20,000 improved working conditions for sweatshop workers and proved women could make a difference in a man’s world.
American history between 1865 and 1900 is characterized as the Gilded Age. Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner coined this term; it means that this era, from the outside, appeared prosperous, but with a closer look, one could discover the corruption that lay beneath the thin layer of gold. This era was filled with urbanization, industrialization, and immigration; these three things gave the Gilded Age the appearance of being a prosperous time filled with progress. However, the American industrial worker, the bulwark of the age, did not prosper as much as one may have thought. American industrial workers faced extremely difficult lives, working very hard to receive little reward, and it did not take very long before they wanted reform. The industrial workers banded together, forming labor unions, in order to try to negotiate with their employers to have some of their demands met. Labor unions are generally thought of as having positive effects on workers, which certainly was true, but only to an extent. Labor unions also had some very negative effects on workers, specifically when their demands were not met, or when they were seen negatively by the government and the public. Immigration rates during the Gilded Age were extremely high, because the United States had great opportunities, especially in available jobs, which were greatly desirable to foreign people. Immigration generally had negative effects on American industrial workers. With large numbers of immigrants coming from foreign countries, there was a surplus of labor which caused unemployment and wages to remain low. Also, immigration had great effects on labor unions, generally negative as well, which would then in turn negatively affect the workers in that union. Last...
Even before the Triangle fire, working conditions were dreadful, but they never received recognition. It’s quite a shame that numerous people had to perish for the nation to open its eyes. Fortunately, the banning together of the laboring class generated the movement toward better and safer working conditions; including an incline in wages and adequate hours. The Triangle fire sparked the movement toward a better future for America’s working class. By referring back to the catastrophe, activists and employers were able to pinpoint the exact flaws in the working
In the article “George Washington’s Solution for Sexual Harassment”, Star Parker argues that the advice, 1st President, George Washington gives in his Farewell Address (1796) are not being enforced as valid solutions of Self-Governance and uses Sexual Harassment to further detail her claim. In his farewell Address, George Washington makes the suggestion of minimizing government and political control and maximize governance for moral suppositions going by religion. Parker uses references from the Christian Holy Bible as well as the farewell address to ensure that in the beginning of America’s youth, it was clear that everyone followed the laws of God; but as time went on Government Control has become greater than self-governance.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire is a turning point in history because, unions gained powerful alliances and people who wanted to fight for their safety. Which now in the U.S there is a set of guidelines that need to be follow to ensure the safety of the employees. He writes: “The Triangle fire of March 25, 1911, was for ninety years the deadliest workplace disaster in New York history—and the most important (Von Drehle 3).” Von Drehle emphasizes how important this event is in history and he draw comparisons to the to
At the turn of the Twentieth Century America is one generation removed from the civil war. For African Americans times are supposed to be improving following the Reconstruction of the south and the ratification of the 15th amendment. Except, in actuality life is still extremely tough for the vast majority of African Americans. Simultaneously, the birthing of the industrial revolution is taking place in America and a clear social divide in daily livelihood and economic prosperity is forming across the country. This time is known as the Gilded Age because as the metaphor emphasizes, only a thin layer of wealth and prosperity of America’s elite robber barons is masking the immense amount of impoverished American laborers. Among the vast majority
“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” (Von Drehle 86). Even before it happen, the Forward predicted the terrible disaster of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory that occurred one year, one month, and seventeen days later (86). Triangle: The Fire that Changed America, by David Von Drehle tells the story of the horrible fire.
“In 2011, there were 11,364 complaints of sexual harassment made to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: 84 percent filed by women and 16 percent filed by men” (aauw.org). Sexual harassment in the workplace is very serious and is unacceptable at all places of employment throughout the US. Individuals should be able to show up to work without the fear of an individual sexually harassing them. “Sexual harassment of men does occur, though there is less information about the problem because men are less likely to report the behavior.” (workharassment.net). Aside from sexual harassment are workplace relationships. There are good workplace relationships, and there are bad workplace relationships. How can victims of sexual harassment in their workplace put a stop to the inappropriate behavior? What is classified as a good workplace relationship, and a bad one? In my paper I will discuss sexual harassment in the workplace, and what one can do when they feel they are being harassed. Also, I will discuss the good and the bad of workplace relationships.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, defines sexual harassment as a behavior of a sexual nature that affects an individual’s terms of employment or creates a hostile and intimidating work environment. According to the EEOC, it is “unlawful to harass a person, an applicant, or employee because of that person’s sex.” (Sexual Harassment) The term “sexual harassment” can be a bit misleading as other forms of work related harassment can take place that have nothing to do with ‘sex’ but do however, fall under the same umbrella. We will look to identify the different types of sexual harassment in the workplace, specifically, ‘Quid Pro Quo’ and what it’s like to work in a ‘Hostile Work Environment’. This paper will focus on the law, woman’s rights in the workplace, and discuss an example from the Supreme Court Case of: Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986).