The first years of the 20th century, before we entered World War One, are known as the "Progressive Era". Essentially, as the country modernized there were several movements to improve, or progress, our society. Naturally, everyone had their own ideas about what should be changed, how it should be changed and who was responsible for the change. Those debates continue today.
A sad legacy of this era is the preventable tragedy at the Triangle Shirt Factory in 1911. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll leave it at that for now.
For this week's blog, spend some time exploring this website. Once you have a good feel for this story, respond to these questions:
1) How could this tragedy have been prevented? (50 words)
2) Why does this story fit into the "Progressive Era"? (50 words)
3) In your opinion, is the government or citizens responsible for making changes in society? (100 words)
In this article you couldn’t have stopped the fire from spreading so fast, but they could have fixed some safety features. All the exits had doors that opened inwardly rather than out. As women ran down the fire escape, it began to buckle under their weight. There were two exits and two elevators located on each end of the flat on the ninth floor. The Greene Street stairway was blocked by flames, and the Washington Place stairway was locked. It had become common practice for the factory to lock the Washington Place to prevent employee theft. As a result, the only escape routes left for victims were the elevators.(word count 109)
ReplyDeleteI feel like the Progressive Era fits with the Triangle Shirt Factory Tragedy because there are problems other could have helped with to prevent such a horrific tragedy. For example, like I said above, safety features. If the owners of the building would have built a staircase or even a ladder, it could have saved many people’s lives. (word count:58)
In my own opinion I think both are responsible making our society change. The government should make laws out for what we should follow. If we don’t follow the rules the government has given to us then we should be given a fine. That’s one way the government could change our society. There is a way some citizens can change society. I think we should start helping everyone out. Even if it’s something like holding a door for an elder or being polite when someone ask you a question. The government can enforce laws, but we must try to follow them. With good attitudes and good hearts, you can achieve anything. (word count:110)
1.) The tragedy could have been prevented if there were better safety measures. The owners should have not locked the doors to the building because it was not safe for the workers. I know they locked the doors so no one would steal anything, but they did not think about the workers’ safety in doing so. They did not prepare for accidents like these to happen. (66)
ReplyDelete2.) This story fits into the “Progressive Era” because during the era, they investigated hazardous working conditions in factories. Many faced poor working conditions that were very unsafe. Those who worked for the Triangle Waist Company also had unsafe working conditions, which is why 146 of the 500 employees died. (50)
3.) In my opinion, I think citizens and the government should both be responsible for making changes in society. They go hand in hand, and they both need to do their part. The government should be the ones to set some regulations, and the citizens should just follow those regulations. Citizens should also be able to just help each other, and then we would not need the government to step in and impose their laws. I think citizens should take the initiative and do as much as they can to help society. You don’t have to be the ones to make laws to be able to change the society. (109)
1. The only way this fire could been prevented first was make the builders make sure the building was safe and had the owner of the building not lock the top doors but only the entrance and also make sure the fire escape lead to safety and make it with stand lots of wait. Words54
ReplyDelete2. This event in particular fits in the progressive era in since how terrible the conditions that the workers are in I mean not just work environment but also their safety like that escape it lead somewhere but to safety and it also broke off due to the weight of workers trying to escape and lock doors really. Words58
ReplyDelete. In my opinion the government should try make changes to society so that accidents or strikes would not happened that would equal less deaths like for example they sure factory owners pay their workers more or maybe make the work condition better suitable, more clean , with fresh air and shouldn’t allow children to do the more dangerous jobs and them more pay and government sure try to make more jobs to also improve the places that the workers live so their families don’t have to sleep in one room because happy workers equal s job getting done better. Words100
ReplyDelete1. Fixing the safety features of the factory could have prevented this catastrophe. When working in a filthy building and theirs trash everywhere, that is what ignites the fire. The men and women who worked in the factories were given too many hours and poor pay for the work that they did and I think that would also make them more sluggish, which makes more accidents. (67)
ReplyDelete2. During the Progressive era there were many problems with the waist and the conditions of factories and people. When comparing the era with the tragedy of the fire they show huge similarities just from the factory conditions. There was also some talk on the Women's Trade Union League and other women unions that were made to help others. (58)
3.In my opinion, the citizens made more progress than the government did. The people always looked forward to new cause and without the peoples say in the world, then where would we be now? I mean, women standing up for there rights and others, such as workers who also stood up for there rights and working conditions. The government never saw the problems until the people brought them to their attention. Something that was so belittled by the Government was so important to the people. So, in my opinion, the Government would have no progress in where we are today without the people. (103)
1.)This tragedy could have been prevented. If the people in charge would have followed regulation laws and health and safety laws then nothing like this would have probably ever happened. If people were in these conditions of the factory, why would the people in charge not make sure that they are safe and healthy?!!
ReplyDelete2.) this story fits in the progressive era because it shows what it was like to work in these types of conditions in a factory and what immigrants had to go through when they worked in the factories. It was the only job that would hire them back in the day.
3.) in my opinion, I think that the government was trying to change our society. Many things like the wars were starting to build up over certain things like for example: Cuba wanted their independence, so we helped them gain it by fighting in the Spanish-American War to help Cuba gain their independence from Spain. Governments have tried to change the way that schools work, they have tried to change about the food that we eat, and they have tried to change about what we do in life and in our schools, especially public schools. That is my own opinion.
1. This could have been prevented if business owners cared about the workers. The whole roots of the problem is money and greed. If the bosses really care then they would not have put the workers into the awful working conditions that lead to the fire. Also, if the bosses cared then they would have checked to make sure that their workers would be ok.
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2. This fits perfectly into the progressives era because of how the working conditions began to change. After the fire happened in the Triangle Shirt Factory, that killed over 100 people, then people became more aware of the poor and unsanitary working conditions. The government began to make more laws and regulations for the safety of the workers, which was what the progressives era was all about.
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3. In my opinion, the government is responsible for making changes in society. I think that citizens have the right to voice their opinions, which is constitutional, but not make the rules. I believe that the whole reason whys we elected people in the government is so that they can make the rules for us because society would be corrupt if we made the rules. Also, not every citizen would know what the consequence of a law that made would be. Citizens can also send in a letter to Congress that asks them if they can help address their problems with the current society, which ca make them feel like they have a voice.
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fires happen sometimes it could be caused by anything, but this fire brought to the eyes of the people how bad the working conditions of this factory actually was. It wasn't up to code for anything, the owners were hiring immigrants to work at low wages and in terrible conditions. they could have helped prevent this if they cared about the working conditions of there employes.(67)
ReplyDeleteThis fits into the "Progressive Era" because during this time many factories were just starting up and they just wanted money anddidnt care about the working conditions. if this wouldn't have been the case 146 out of the 500 people working for them would have been living. Many people consider thistle period as the trial and error time.(59)
is the government or citizens responsible for making changes in society? This question could go either way. I was always told be the change in the world you wanna see, but also you can't do it by yourself and the government has all the funds and the people you could need. The government should help by making laws that actually apply to society today and actually enforce them bc there is no point in having a law if you don't enforce it. and as citizens we need to keep the laws that the government makes and keep our states clean.(101)
The 1911 Triangle Factory Fire was a very tragic incident that could have been prevented. Nearly all the workers for the Triangle Waist Company were poor immigrants. Because these immigrants were desperate, they were often taken advantage of. Many survivors testified that they could not get out due to the locked doors and faulty fire exits. All it would have taken was a little care by the owners of the company, and 146 people would not have died.
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This story fits perfectly into the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era showed a time where many immigrants were coming to America, and working many horrible jobs. America was really figuring out what to do with all the new ways of life formed by the Industrial Revolution, and especially with all the influx of new people in the country.
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I believe the citizens are responsible for making changes to society. Many times, the government is the one actually making the changes, but the citizens make it happen. For example, when slavery existed in America, if all the citizens were okay with it, we would probably still have slavery today. I think if all the citizens of America were to decide that sandals shouldn’t be worn by men, eventually a change would be made to society preventing men from wearing sandals. I definitely believe it is better for the people to make the changes to society rather than the government.
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There were plenty of ways to prevent this disaster. The most prominent way was to leave the doors unlocked just in case something like this happened. But, another was was to not crowd the building as much as they did. This would have lessened the panic and the chance of accident.(51)
ReplyDeleteThe reason this event fits into the Progressive Era is because in this era they investigated work safety hazards. And this would have prevented such a catastrophe. They would have noticed that the doors are locked and also this era would have brought attention to how there wasn't even a simple way down such as a ladder or some stairs.(60)
In my opinion the government and the citizens are both essential for making the right changes for society. If the government was the top authority and no one was allowed a say in any change then there would be utter chaos in our nation. But, due to citizens being allowed to run for office and being able to join the government we are able to make more diverse changes that more closely relate to the citizens since no one in the government can relate to all citizens. Also, you don't need to be in the government to make changes. If you know something is wrong you need to act upon it and it may influence others to do the same. (120)
1. This crisis like all work related crisises could have been prevented by better working conditions, and this triangle factory is not excluded. So all the workers were poor immigrants. So if they got better training or looked into their jobs and were not just looking for their pay checks then the fire would have been prevented. This was the owners faults (63)
ReplyDelete2. It’s apart of the prgresssive era because it was about an industry and the progressives did not like urbanization, or industrialism. Also because of the working conditions. It’s like all the owners of everything during the progressive era came together and voted on giving their employees terrible hours, conditions, and training. Even uinions stared going against other unions trying to get all their workers some work. (67)
3. In my opinion I think it is not all to blame the governement for our changes in society. Yes they should help, but I think it is the peoples jobs and responsibilities to change what we think that we should change. We should initiate social changes, and then we go to the goverernemnt to se if they will help us. If they won’t then we should try to change, but if they say no and the don’t want to do it yourself then it wasn’t that important to you to change. So it is goes both ways. We initiate change, and the government should come and help. (104)
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1. This crisis could have been prevented by simple rule following. i think the owner wasnt aware of the Health and Safety regulation laws that werent being followed, as he also didnt know what they were paid. also, the owner could've given these extremely young and underage women more job security and better pay to prevent this fire. 60 words
ReplyDelete2.The Triangle Shirt Factory tragedy was just like every other problem in the Progressive era. it fits perfectly. they had tons of health and safety rules and regulations either not put into place yet or they didnt enforce them, thus resulting in big problems costing the US many young, mostly children,immigrant lives.54 words
3. In my Opinion, i would say both are responsible, both goverment and citizens. Citizens needed to make these problems known to the goverment and voice them even louder than they did with strikes and boycotts. also, the goverment wasnt involved enough in these immigrants lives and didnt give them enough rights to even protect themselves or provide themselves with a good job. the workers were dying from over exhaustion and they just wanted a few dollars, and that was not ok. the Goverment i think is more to blame since it didnt provide protection and support for the under privaledged workers. 101 words
The Triangle Fire illustrated that fire inspections and precautions were hopelessly out of date and minimal. This could have been prevented if the fire inspections were up to date, and if the building had more fire precautions. If 147 people died in 18 minutes, then that means that something is wrong.(51)
ReplyDeleteThe Progressive Era was about improving the society at the time. There were many movements to help move this along. One such movement was the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union. They protested against the low wages and horrible work conditions in garment factories. And the incident at the factory just added fuel to the fire to get the safety regulation changed. (62)
In my opinion, the government is responsible for making change in society. The citizens can’t make a change themselves. But they can force a change by going on strike and whatnot. But if a government that can’t see its citizens suffering, then it shouldn’t be a government at all. The citizens should not have to force a change. But I believe that the government is “living”, and it is flexible to change one way or another, whether by the government, or by the citizens. The job of the government is to make the law, enforce the law, and to make sure the laws are fair to every citizen. On a side note, the government should uphold peace, and the pursuit of happiness within its nation.(125)
This tragedy could have been prevented in many ways. If the owners had met the safety standards they were supposed to, many lives and if not all of them could have been saved. The doors to the stairwell should not have been locked. And the fire escape should've been better built. Flammable substances shouldn't have a litter the floor, and there should have been a sprinkler system to prevent the fire from spreading or stop it.
ReplyDeleteThis story fits into the progressive era because it did happen in the progressive era. Many people and union groups were trying to stop the horrible working conditions that they were living in. Many things were progressing and getting better, but then they were still horrible things like the fire that happened during this era. However it was because of these terrible accidents that people banded together to try to make the country better.
Overall the government should have regulated the building more and made sure that it was fireproof, so that fault lies with them. But the owners and managers of the building should not have to be told by the government to put certain safety features into the building. They certainly should know not to keep doors locked like they did, Or leave tons of flammable objects out littering at the floor. I think in many ways the government could have prevented this from happening, but I believe that it was the people's fault that this happened. They were the ones who were supposed to have the safety precautions in place, and they didn't. They shouldn't have to be told by the government to make sure that their employees are safe.
1)I believe that many things could have been done to prevent the fire at the triangle factory in 1911. One thing for starters is that they had too many people working on that floor. They also had the doors locked so that people couldn't escape. If they would have at least filled the buckets up with water that survivor Mary Domsky-Abrams spoke about they could've used those to put out the fire. (72)
ReplyDelete2)I think this story fits perfectly into the progressives era. After this tragedy occurred people became more aware of the horrible working conditions that factory workers had to go through. Thankfully the government started making more laws and regulations for the safety of the factory workers. Which thankfully was the Progressive Era's goal. (53)
3)In my opinion the government and the citizens are both responsible for making changes in society. I believe the government should consider the things the citizens voice their opinions about as long as we respect their authority. It's our rights as citizens of America to voice our concerns, but also follow the rules we are given. Without boundaries our nation would be a mess. So we each have an important role to play. If we don't do our part we can't expect the other to do theirs the way we want them to. The government sets our rules and regulations, and we carry it out.(105)
In order for this tragedy to have been prevented, more safety precautions should have been taken. This tragedy illustrated that fire inspections and precautions were inadequate at the time. The doors had been locked when they shouldn’t have, the fire espace led to nowhere and it bent under the weight of the workers trying to escape. Firefighters ladders were far too short as well as the water hoses couldn’t reach the top floors, resulting in many choosing to jump to their deaths or burning alive.(85)
ReplyDeleteThis tragedy fits into the progressive era because during this time there we movements being made to improve our society. After this tragedy occurred people began to take into consideration the reasons why it had occurred and what could be done to keep it from happening again.(50)
In my opinion both the government and citizen are responsible for making changes in our society. The citizens are the ones who bring attention to the problems in our society. After the Triangle Factory Fire, it was citizens in groups such as the ILGWU and the WTUL that fought for better working conditions and protective legislation. If it weren't for these citizens fighting for these changes, the attention wouldn't necessarily be brought these problems and things would not be changed. The government on the other hand, are the ones who make the laws in order for these changes to take place. In a way they work together and balance each other out.(111)
1) Many things could have helped prevent this fire at the Triangle Shirt Factory. However, the most prominent change that could have been made was raising the importance of safety precautions. They were not up to code with these things, and didn't even have stairs or anything of the sort for an easy escape in situations like this. The owners also should not have locked the doors, and risking their workers to get harmed. (74)
ReplyDelete2) This heart breaking tragedy fits right into the Progressive Era. This is because this particular era was helping our society. After the incident, the people started looking into the cause of it and what could have been done to improve the safety there. In doing this, the people became more aware of the terrible working conditions. (56)
3) In my personal opinion, I think that it should be weighed upon both. The citizens are the voice of America, and the government is there to help make those voices even more heard. The citizens most certainly need to speak out more so that way they could be even more heard. However, I also think that the government also needs to help them out more. The government could help getting their voices out of them, and actually start listening. They could also be more supportive and not be entirely judgmental. This is why I believe that both the government and the citizens should be involved in making changed. (107)
This tragedy should/could have been prevented in several different ways. Looking at it from a broad viewpoint the Traingle Shirt Factory did not meet safety and health inspections standards. But looking at this tragedy from a more introspective point of you, there are some obvious problems that' stick out. First, the fire inspections and precautions were inadequate. Second, workers claimed the exit doors were locked, and that the workers were not instructed in how to use them. And lastly, there was no fire escape so the workers were basically trapped on the ninth floor. (73)
ReplyDeleteThis story fits into the Progressive Era because it is another example of the terrible working conditions. In the time of the Rpogressive Era the working conditions were horrible almost anywhere you worked. Sadly the bosses had children as young as 12 and 14 working in these horrible conditions. So this tragedy also fits into this Era due to the terrible child labor occurring. (62)
In my opinion I think both the government and the citizens have some resonsibbility in changing society. Obviously government can change society for better or for worse. But they without a doubt have the responsibility to progress and build up society. But its not just government that owns their responsibility, the citizens do too. the citizens hav the responsibility to stand up for what they believe, and to support that. Even though I believe both parties have a repsonsibilty to change society, I do believe government has the greater responsibility and ability. the citizens dot have the ability that government has to voice their opinion and speak their minds. (105)
The 1911 Triangle Factory Fire was an awful event in the history of the Progressive Era. This incident could have easily been avoided. If the necessary building inspections had been done the fire would have probably never happened. Also if they were prepared for a fire, like having proper ways of evacuating, the number of lives lost would be drastically decreased.
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This event fits nicely into the progressive era because this is the major turning point for making workplaces safer. People started to realize just how bad working conditions were and them became determined to fix them. Through creating safety regulations and limit working hours we were able to modernize our workplaces and start to form them into what they are today.
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I believe that it is the government's responsibility to bring about necessary changes in society. We elect government officials and presidents that we believe will bring about the changes that we want to see happen then we continue on with our daily lives. And these people we elect better try and bring about the changes they said they would or else they will definitely not be elected again. People are too busy to sit down and talk about all the changes they wanna see and how to bring about those changes, so we elect people who know what they are doing to bring about changes in society for us.
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This tragedy could have been prevented by getting the sweat shop in order, and making sure that everything flammable is out of the way. Some fabric were in a flammable basket were the fire took place. The men that were in charge of this work place did not keep it up to code like the law that was paced in 1910. Less people would have not died if one of the doors were not locked well people were still working there. (81)
ReplyDeleteThis terrible event fits in to the Progressive Era for it changes the way we look at men and women are treated in the work place. The nation was trying to change the way things were running and how people were treated in work place. Mostly people from other countries were treated the worst. People tell the good side of the Progressive Era and how it helped the US grow as the country. The thing that gets that stuff moving is the bad things that happen to people and businesses. (90)
The people change the society they lived in for the better. The way the people change the society came not in the best way. The way the people reacted to the things happening in the city, changed the city's for the best. The government look at all the sadness these companies were making. The people opened up the government eyes to trouble that was happening. After the tragedy that happened at Triangle Shirt Factory people got mad that business men got away with cutting the rules just a little got people killed. Women and young children that were working for money so there family can get more food. (108)
This happened on Saturday March 15, 1911 at the end of the work day when some throw a cigarette in a cotton scrap pile. This sent the factor a blaze with 500 workers the only fire escape was very small and unstable, the stairs collapsed and the elevator could only hold 12 people at a time. The great tragedy could have been ovoid if the building have sprinklers and a fire escape that could handle more personal.(77)
ReplyDeleteThis era was based on workers safety and fair wages. Numerous work place laws were pasted at this time in history. One of the laws was the Sullivan-Hoey fire prevention law which requires all factories to have sprinklers systems. This law was a model for all other work place safety laws.(51)
As a society we are responsible for making the changes that need to be made. The government is there to try and help protect us but not to make our decisions for us. We as humans are responsible for doing the right thing and not putting others lives in danger for our own monetary gain. The government can only make laws after the bad things have happened it is our job as a society to not let these things happen but unfortunately people are greedy and will take only what's good for themselves into consideration. And that's when selfishness turns into tragedy.(102)
The tragedy of this sweatshop in 1911 could have been prevented if the administration would have followed the rules. I think that they showed no decency to their workers. They gave them terrible working conditions. They gave the workers terrible working hours. They kept them locked in the work space. How could someone get out in the case of an emergency if the doors are locked? The tragedy could have been prevented if they simply followed the rules and didn't go for a money grab like they did. (88)
ReplyDeleteThis story fits into the progressive era because of the lack of attention they paid to the workers. It was a money grab for all of them. They took advantage of foreign people in need of a job. The workers were given terrible work spaces. They were given terrible work hours. They were set up for failure. There were many safety hazards because people cut corners. They wanted the cheapest and quickest labor possible. (74)
I think that the citizens are responsible for change. If you think about it... would this country even be independent if people didn't try to make change? The answer is no. It is key in our country that people make a change themselves. We as Americans should never just sit here at home and wait for the government to make changes for us. If people across the nation are being opressed by their job then it is certain that someone is going to do something about it. If people just waited around for things, then nothing would get done or changed... ever.
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1. This situation could’ve been prevented if the building was more safe and they were clear instructions on what to do in a fire situation. The workers do not know what to do when the building caught fire so they were stranded in the building to fend for themselves (50)
ReplyDelete2. This event fits into the progressive era in a very eerie tone. This showed owners of businesses that they needed to have clear set of rules on what to do in an emergency situation to ensure that their workers can be as safe as possible. After this owners did not want to have the same tragedy happened so they had set guidelines on what to do in an emergency situation. (71)
3. I think that it is the citizens responsibility to advance society. The Government has a big role in the advancement of society in the position of making rules and regulations but it is up to the citizens to uphold those rules and regulations. And ultimately it is up to the citizens to move forward in life and not focus on the past. The citizens are the ones that move forward in technology and industrial situations. Government cannot regulate what new technology goes out. Without citizens we would not have won our independence. Without the citizens we would not have been able to fight any wars for ourselves. Therefore it is up to the citizens to move on in life (110)
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