The Triangle Fire:

From Industrialism
to Progressivism

 

Developed by:
Prof. Joanne Reitano
La Guardia Community College CUNY

Fighting the Triangle Fire, March 25, 1911

Overview:

Industrialism was a mixed blessing. Technological progress brought the nation increased productivity and an improved standard of living.  Population rose and cities grew as foreign immigrants and domestic migrants pursued the American dream.  By 1900, the United States produced more manufactured goods than any other country in the world.  However, the benefits of industrial progress did not reach everyone equally.  In fact, seven-eighths of the nation’s wealth was owned by only one eighth of the population.

As big businesses swallowed up small entrepreneurs, huge impersonal factories replaced artisan workshops.  Workers toiled twelve hours six days a week for pitifully small wages.   Child labor was common and there was no provision for unemployment, injury, sickness or old age. Distressed that “amid the greatest accumulations of wealth, men die of starvation,” philosopher Henry George suggested that “this association of poverty with progress is the great enigma of our times.”

A variety of reformers tried to address these problems.  They exposed reality in photographs, drawings, books and journals.  Some established settlement houses; others asked state governments to regulate living and working conditions; a few advocated the radical reorganization of society.   One of the most controversial efforts at change came from the workers themselves who organized strikes and formed labor unions in defiance of the law and despite violent repression by company guards, local police and state militias.   

However,  not even the labor organizations were equitable because unions were dominated by white, male skilled workers.  Consequently, it is all the more amazing to learn about the struggles of New York City’s unskilled female garment workers who waged a five month strike in 1909 and suffered 146 fatalities during a tragic 1911 factory fire that might not have occured if their strike demands had been met. 

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire illuminates the dilemmas created by industrial progress.  It raises fundamental questions about the relationship between rich and poor, employer and employee, government, management and labor.  It compels us to think carefully about how capitalism actually works.  It asks us to decide whether social reform is necessary and/or legitimate.  Should we be concerned about economic inequity and human suffering? Can a capitalist country afford to have a social conscience?

Activity:

Step One: Background Orientation

As you read the textbook, Who Built America, focus on the theme of industrial growth and the efforts to control it.

Look for key words such as industrialization, urbanization, immigration, monopoly, trust, finance capitalism, Social Darwinism, tenement, sweatshop, child labor, labor unions, strikes, muckrakers, trust busters, anti-trust laws, protective tariffs and settlement houses.

 Look for key figures such as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J. P. Morgan, Samuel Gompers, Henry George, Jacob Riis and Theodore Roosevelt.    Does your textbook mention the Triangle Factory Fire?  

In Who Built America,  look at pages 207-209, which put the Triangle Fire in historical context.

Step Two: Getting An Overview of the Triangle Factory Fire  

March 2 (sections 091/111); March 3 (section 141):

Visit the site on the Triangle Factory Fire: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/

This is a rich site which contains a wealth of fascinating information about the causes, course and consequences of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.  Read the overview narrative for each section of the site. List 2-3 factors that you consider most important for understanding each of the following: the origins of the fire, the drama of the fire and the response to the fire.

What aspect of the fire is most shocking to you? What is the most burning question you have about the fire?  Record your answers because they represent your core concerns about the fire and will provide you with a focus for the next two steps of this exercise. 

Step Three: Investigating the Visual Evidence 

March 9 (sections 091/111); March 10 (section 141):

Part 1: Gathering the Evidence:

Working in pairs or threes, examine all eight political cartoons in the section labeled “Photos and Illustrations.”

What issue does each cartoon emphasize? What point of view does each cartoon reflect?  Whom or what does it criticize? How does each cartoon simplify or oversimplify the issues raised by the fire?  Which cartoon best helps you resolve your core concerns about the fire? What kind of newspaper or magazine would be most likely to publish these cartoons?

Together, decide which cartoon is most important for understanding the central issues of the Triangle Fire.  Draft three to five sentences explaining your choice. 

Part 2: Sharing Your Perceptions:

Post a brief statement on the course discussion board explaining which cartoon your pair considers most important for understanding the central issues of the Triangle Fire. Post a joint statement agreeing or disagreeing with the choice and explanation offered by at least one other pair of students.

Part 3: Assessing Additional Visual Evidence:

Working in pairs or individually, in class or at home, examine the photographs, newspaper clippings and other items in the “Photos and Illustrations” section. How do they supplement the cartoons?  Which item is most shocking? Which item is most informative? Which item deepens or  helps you resolve your core concerns about the fire?

Step Four: Investigating The Printed Evidence 

March 16 (sections 091/111); March 17 (section 141):

Part 1. Gathering the Evidence

Read at least one document in each of the following sections for a minimum of four documents. The more documents you consult, the richer your understanding of the fire will be.  The documents can be accessed by highlighting the relevant sections listed on the left side of the home page and at the end of each section.  They also appear in the section labeled “Documents” along with other interesting material available for your use.  If you work in pairs or in groups, you can divide up the labor.

Take notes on each document you read.  Identify the author’s point of view and the two most important points the author makes about the causes, course or consequences of the fire. 

In the section,  “Sweatshops and Strikes Before 1911,” choose at least one of the following:

In the section, “Fire!,” choose at least one of the following:

In the section, “Mourning and Protest,” choose at least one of the following:

In the section, “Investigation, Trial and Reform,” choose at least one of the following:

Part 2: Sharing Your Perceptions:

Pose one informed, provocative question that you would like answered about either the causes, the course or the consequences of the fire.    Post your question on the class discussion board.   Answer at least one of your classmate’s questions and explain why he/she should read one of the documents you consulted.

Step Five: Broadening Your Understanding of the Fire (Optional) 

The following websites provide information on people, issues, events and circumstances related to the fire.  They are worth visiting a) for the fun of it, b) to broaden and deepen your understanding of the fire and c) to acquire more evidence for Step Seven. 

Step Six: Extra Document (Optional): Click here.

Step Seven: Evaluating the Evidence

Every year on March 25, the day of the fire, there is a ceremony at the old Triangle Shirtwaist Factory which is now part of New York University (address).  Imagine that for the centennial observance in 2011, a time capsule will be buried under the existing commemorative plaque.  A contest is being conducted to decide how to best memorialize the fire.  Submit an entry which consists of the following items:  (Due March 23rd in sections 091/111; March 24th in section 141)