Primary Sources: Social Reform & Activism: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory

"This is a complete copy of the Triangle Fire Transcript. For ease of viewing and downloading, we have also divided the transcript into volumes and sections. Please note: Full transcript is unavailable for pages 674-1210, but is contained substantially in Vol. 2. "

McClure's magazine, Volume 37

"One of the greatest industrial tragedies in U.S. history occurred on March 25, 1911, when 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women, died in a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist company in New York City. The victims had been trapped by blocked exit doors and faulty fire escapes. One of the worst industrial fires in U.S. history, the Triangle fire became a galvanizing symbol of industrial capitalism’s excesses and the pressing need for reform. In its aftermath, a coalition of middle-class reformers and working people secured passage of landmark occupational health and safety laws. The Triangle fire received sensational coverage in all the New York newspapers. This article from the Jewish Daily Forward, printed the day after the fire, emphasized the tragic loss to the Jewish community." GMU History Matters

"One of the greatest industrial tragedies in U.S. history occurred on March 25, 1911, when 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women, died in a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist company in New York City. The victims had been trapped by blocked exit doors and faulty fire escapes. The aftermath of the catastrophe brought grief and recriminations. Protest rallies and memorial meetings were held throughout the city. During one meeting at the Metropolitan Opera House, tension broke out between the working-class Lower East Siders who filled the galleries (and saw class solidarity as the ultimate solution to the problems of industrial safety) and the middle- and upper-class women in the boxes who sought reforms like creation of a bureau of fire prevention. The meeting would have broken up in disorder if not for a stirring speech by Rose Schneiderman, a Polish-born former hat worker who had once led a strike at the Triangle factory. Although she barely spoke above a whisper, Schneiderman held the audience spellbound." GMU History Matters

"On the warm spring afternoon of March 25, 1911, a small fire broke out in a bin of rags at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory on New York City’s Lower East Side. In less than an hour, 146 people—most of them young immigrant women—died, trapped by blocked exit doors and faulty fire escapes. One of the worst industrial fires in U.S. history, the Triangle fire galvanized working people and middle-class reformers alike, ultimately resulting in the passage of several laws designed to insure workplace safety. The fire received sensational and extensive coverage in all the New York City newspapers. William Gunn Shepherd, a young reporter for the New York World, happened to be at the scene of the fire when it began. From a phone across the street, he gave a minute-by-minute account of the unfolding events to his city editor. The World published them the following day." GMU history Matters

"The New York State Factory Investigating Commission was established following the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of March 25, 1911."
Part of Harvard University's Open Collections Program

"One of the greatest industrial tragedies in U.S. history occurred on March 25, 1911, when 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women, died in a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist company in New York City. In this brief excerpt from their testimony before the Factory Investigation Commission, New York City Fire Chief Edward F. Croker and Fire Marshall William Beers commented on the safety lapses—the locking of an exit door, the inadequate fire escapes, and the overcrowded factory floor—that led to the deaths of the Triangle workers." GMU History Matters

"On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist company in New York City. Trapped by blocked exit doors and faulty fire escapes, more than 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women, perished in the flames or jumped ten stories to their deaths. One of the worst industrial fires in U.S. history, the Triangle fire became a galvanizing symbol of industrial capitalism’s excesses and the pressing need for reform. In its aftermath, a coalition of middle-class reformers and working people secured passage of landmark occupational health and safety laws. For Jewish and Italian immigrant communities of the Lower East Side, the fire was especially tragic. Poet Morris Rosenfeld, known as the “poet laureate of the slum and the sweatshop,” penned this memorial to the victims four days after the fire. The Jewish Daily Forward printed the poem down the full length of its front page." GMU History Matters

"The ILR School Kheel Center is honoring the 100 year anniversary of the fire with a redesign of this well-known resource, including many new and updated materials."

"The Triangle Fire Open Archive was created by Buscada, in collaboration with the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, one of the worst workplace disasters in American history. An ongoing participatory online archive, it understands the significance of the Triangle Fire site through historical narrative and human connection, inspired by the widely varying labor, safety, art, activist and pedagogical perspectives of the Coalition. The Archive’s website invites the public to contribute objects which tell one aspect of the Triangle Fire / Asch Building story. "

Includes excerpts from the trial, images, newspaper accounts, etc.

"In this oral history interview conducted by historian Joan Morrison, Pauline Newman told of getting a job at the Triangle Company as a child, soon after arriving in the United States from Lithuania in 1901. Newman described her life as an immigrant and factory worker. Like many other young immigrant workers, she chafed at the strict regulations imposed by the garment manufacturers. One of the greatest industrial tragedies in U.S. history occurred on March 25, 1911, when 146 workers, mostly young women, died in a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. Although she was not working in the factory at the time of the fire, many of her friends perished. Newman later became an organizer and leader of the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union. "