Triangle, The Fire That Changed America written by David Von Drehle. Drehle an author, and journalist born on February 6, 1961. Drehle was born in Denver, Colorado. Drehle received his bachelors from the University of Denver, later pursuing and graduating from Oxford University with a masters in literature. Triangle which was published in 2004 wrote of the events that occurred March 26, 1911. On this day the workers of the Triangle shirt factory faced tragedy and torment like no other. Drehle describes the not only the poor working conditions the women faced, but also the horrible pay wages the received. Drehle reasoning for writing Triangle is to inform the reader and educate them of the hardships that the workers during this time period faced. The hardships the workers faced being, poor working conditions, and low wages.
The start of the book begins with the aftermath of the Triangle fire. Including the feelings and reactions of those around the factory. Stories about Jewish mistreatment in Eastern Europe were very common, like in the case of Rosie Freedman. Religious oppression and poverty forced many Jews from Eastern Europe to evacuate their homeland towards the United States. As for Italian immigrants, they were escaping an ecological disaster. The cutting of trees by irresponsible privateers caused a massive change in the country ecology that eventually lead towards hunger and disease due to the erosion of topsoil. The huge migration of immigrants to the United States sparked a time of cheap labor. Industries, such as the Triangle, took advantage of the immigrant’ situation by paying them very little to work up to fourteen hours a day, six days a week. Not only were they underpaid, their safety was at risk. A crowded workplace and lent floating in the air only meant disaster.
During this time period, the 1900's, females were also fighting for mores rights. One of the main right these women were fighting for was the right to vote. Women were also upset with the working arrangements. They felt that they were not given any respect solely based on their gender, that men were more respected. A few women that no longer wanted this mistreatment were, Clara Lemlich and Anne Morgan who helped orchestrate strikes against the factories. These strikes were no easy thing to do, nor were they the safest. Clara Lemlich learned that shortly after. Clara’s boss hired to have her beaten. This only enraged Clara more than ever before. She would still go to the mass strikes and even joined a women's organization called International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. She among many others like her had to deal with what was about to come.
A constant reminder through the book is the neglect of laborer’s safety and their awful living conditions in tenement housing. During this time period a huge wave of job competition came about because of the mass immigration causing the wages to drop. As the pay began to drop, the worker’s patients did as well, giving birth to many strikes. The local 25 and Women’s trade Union Labor helped gather workers to strike against unfair wages. Another key point of the strike was addressing the long day work shifts as well as the long work week. They promised to keep the strike going until their demands were met. Overcrowding in the tenement houses also became an issue. The tenement houses in which laborers, mostly immigrants, lived in were very unsafe and very uncrowded.
Drehle also presents both sides of the Triangle fire, the workers point of view and the owners point of view. Drehle allows his audience to decide whether or not the outcome of the disastrous fire was for the good of all. In his view, the Triangle fire sparked a boost to the progressives during the early twentieth century. Drehle’s perspective of the outcome of the Triangle fire disaster is a positive one since the fire caused reforms for the good of laborers. Progressives saw the fire as an opportunity to strike against the unjust practices of industries throughout the country. College educated men and women were encouraged to live and work among the workers, an idea that originated in London. This allowed progressive men and women to witness first hand the brutalities of factory labor. The tide of change for Tammany Hall later came. Since the late nineteenth century, Tammy Hall relied on graft and old immigrant’s votes for political power. Now in the era of change, Tammy Hall boss Charles F. Murphy began to embrace reforms shortly after the Triangle disaster to win over the New immigrant’s votes.
In Conclusion, I do believe that the author does answer the thesis. Because of this tragic event many things that we take for granted were set in place. The workplace is a better and safer place from learning from this fire. Such as doors of business opening outward, or sprinkler systems in the celling in case of fires. Also one major ending of this is the use of fire escapes, and the requirement of them to be unlocked at all times. Drehle described the conditions of the workplace and the hardship that these men and women, mostly women faced during this time period. It opened doors for progressives. These women who could not take the mistreatment, and awfully low wages deciding to in the end risk everything for fair treatment. Drehle reasoning for writing Triangle is to inform the reader and educate them of the hardships that the workers during this time period faced. The hardships the workers faced being, poor working conditions, and low wages. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, reason being is it is an important part of history. In many ways, in the business sense that it made all business consider safety, and women’s rights, this was when women began to speak out against mistreatment. Many things were learned from this tragedy, and many lives were lost during the fire on that March day.