The Document Based Question/essay prompt The Legal Legacy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire was prepared in 2011 and the resources have not been updated since that time. For more information about recent legal developments, consult national and state newspapers, legal databases, and your librarian.
March 25, 2011 marked the centennial of the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, a terrible tragedy that took the lives of 146 young people. Public outrage at the callous disregard the factory owners exhibited toward the dangerous conditions in their factory led to a movement that culminated in the groundbreaking New York State worker protection legislation of the second decade of the 20th century. This, in turn, influenced much of the New Deal Legislation enacted in the 1930s.
This activity meets the following guidelines of New York State’s Common Core Social Studies Framework (2017):
- Industrialization and Urbanization: 11.5b
- Prosperity and Depression: 11.7c
- Civil Rights and Civil Liberties: 12.G2d
- Rights, Responsibilities, and Duties of Citizenship: 12.G3a
Below is a list of the 2011 resources.
Reports of the Factory Investigating Commission
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: The Legal Legacy
New Deal Network
Factory Investigating Commission: Digital Archive
Working Lives: A Guide to the Records of the New York State Factory Investigating Commission in the New York State Archives and Records Administration
Remembering the 1911 Triangle Factory Fire
Image Citation: History of the Needlecraft Industry by Ernest Fiene, 1938. The mural was commissioned by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGW) and was painted on a wall of the auditorium in New York High School of Fashion and Industry, a collection of the New York City Department of Education. Public Art for Public Schools, NYC School Construction Authority.