Reread the selection from your textbook about Women in Workplace and the Triangle Fire.
Then answer the question that follows in complete sentences.
In the textile mills of New England and the tobacco factories of the South, women formed the majority of workers... They continued to work long hours for low pay. Many labored under unsafe conditions. Then, a tragic event focused attention on the dangers faced by women workers.
The workday was just ending on a cool March day in 1911, when a fire broke out in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, a sweatshop in New York City. Within minutes, the upper stories were ablaze.
Hundreds of workers raced for the exits, only to find them locked. The company had locked the doors to keep workers at their jobs...
Nearly 150 people, mostly young women, lost their lives in the Triangle Fire. The deaths shocked the public. As a result, New York and other states approved new safety laws to help protect factory workers
Describe the working conditions of women in the workplace in the late 1800s. Why do you think the Triangle Fire changed the way people thought about workers' rights?
In the late 1800s, women in the workplace faced long hours, low pay, and unsafe working conditions. They often worked in textile mills and factories where they were subjected to exhausting work and minimal pay. Many women worked in sweatshops, where they were crammed in crowded spaces with no ventilation or proper safety measures in place. The Triangle Fire highlighted these unsafe working conditions and brought attention to the disregard for workers' rights.
The Triangle Fire changed the way people thought about workers' rights because it was a tragic event that resulted in the loss of nearly 150 lives, mostly young women. The fact that the company had locked the doors to keep workers inside, ultimately trapping them in the burning building, outraged the public. This event exposed the lack of concern for workers' well-being and brought attention to the need for new safety laws and regulations to protect workers in factories and sweatshops. The shocking loss of life in the Triangle Fire forced people to confront the harsh realities of working conditions for women and other workers in the early 1900s, leading to a shift in attitudes towards workers' rights and the importance of workplace safety.