Why Did The Triangle Shirtwaist Movement?

Words: 1226
Pages: 5

“The Triangle workers joined the Uprising of Thirty Thousand, which resulted in a strike that lasted for three months between November 1909 and February 1910. The strikers demanded union shops, weekly instead of biweekly pay, a 52-hour work week, and the discontinuance of workers being charged for electricity and materials. They also called for improved safety standards, including adequate fire escapes and unlocked doors.” With more protestors this time, the strikers thought they had a much higher chance of the factory owners giving in to their demands. But they were wrong. It was hardly more difficult for the owners to break up this strike. “The women who picketed the garment factories during the uprising were harassed and beaten by thugs hired by the factory owners and were then arrested by police. … While concessions were made by some employers, between one thousand and three thousand workers, including those at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, went back to work with no gains.” Although this strike lasted for three months, the owners were far from afraid. There was a constant influx of immigrants coming from …show more content…
America before the Triangle fire and before the 1910s was predominantly conservative. The U.S. Presidents between 1897 and 1913, McKinley, Roosevelt, and Taft, were all members of the Republican Party. New York was no exception. The citizens of New York as well as Tammany Hall, the political machine of New York City, were mostly conservative and did not see a need for change. The Progressive Era was just beginning and had not yet become widespread throughout America. Over the next few years, however, change would sweep across the nation and the Progressive Era would begin rapidly gaining supporters. Much of this can be contributed to a single, large, focusing event: the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory