Triangle Shirtwaste Factory Fire
Deanna Rodriguez
Mr. Deak
AP US History
December 13, 2012 Leap for Life, Leap of Death People die everyday, it’s a fact of life. Cancer, old age, heart attacks, car accidents, are all causes of death. I bet when you imagine how you’re going to die, the thought of jumping out a window that’s nine stories high doesn’t come to mind, but certainly it is another cause of death, another tragic way to die. This exact way of dying took 145 souls on March 25, 1911. One after another girls aging anywhere between 13 and 23 years of age thought they were leaping for their lives from the out break of fire, but instead leapt for death, out of the windows to meet the concrete over one hundred feet below. In honor of those who leapt for their life, changes were made in occupational safety standards that ensure the safety of workers today. When it comes to death, anything is possible. Located on the corner of Greene Street and Washington Place in Manhattan, was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Max Blanck and Isaac Harris owned one of the largest shirt making factories in New York City. Both men had immigrated from Russia as young men, met in the United States, and by 1900 had a little shop together on Woodster Street they named the Triangle Waist Company. It specialized in making shirtwaist, which was a popular blouse worn by women that had a tight waist and puffy sleeve. Those who worked within the factory consisted of a majority of women who worked on the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors. The women who worked there were mainly immigrants aging from13 to 23. Irish, Yiddish, and German were a few of the ethnicities of the women who worked there. The working conditions they had to endeavor were unbearable. It was a true sweatshop. The women worked in a cramped space at lines of sewing machines. Working for as little as $6 a week, 12 hours a day, seven days a week, the factory workers were being
Mr. Deak
AP US History
December 13, 2012 Leap for Life, Leap of Death People die everyday, it’s a fact of life. Cancer, old age, heart attacks, car accidents, are all causes of death. I bet when you imagine how you’re going to die, the thought of jumping out a window that’s nine stories high doesn’t come to mind, but certainly it is another cause of death, another tragic way to die. This exact way of dying took 145 souls on March 25, 1911. One after another girls aging anywhere between 13 and 23 years of age thought they were leaping for their lives from the out break of fire, but instead leapt for death, out of the windows to meet the concrete over one hundred feet below. In honor of those who leapt for their life, changes were made in occupational safety standards that ensure the safety of workers today. When it comes to death, anything is possible. Located on the corner of Greene Street and Washington Place in Manhattan, was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Max Blanck and Isaac Harris owned one of the largest shirt making factories in New York City. Both men had immigrated from Russia as young men, met in the United States, and by 1900 had a little shop together on Woodster Street they named the Triangle Waist Company. It specialized in making shirtwaist, which was a popular blouse worn by women that had a tight waist and puffy sleeve. Those who worked within the factory consisted of a majority of women who worked on the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors. The women who worked there were mainly immigrants aging from13 to 23. Irish, Yiddish, and German were a few of the ethnicities of the women who worked there. The working conditions they had to endeavor were unbearable. It was a true sweatshop. The women worked in a cramped space at lines of sewing machines. Working for as little as $6 a week, 12 hours a day, seven days a week, the factory workers were being
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