The Triangle shirtwaist factory fire that occurred in March 1911 was the most lethal workplace disaster in New York City history until September 11th. It is often portrayed as the catalyst for progressive reforms in New York and as influential to the New Deal. The memory of that day and the influences it had have become somewhat legendary though, and fail to recognize the struggle by immigrant working class socialists and middle class progressives that were just as responsible for reform. In his book, David Von Drehle uses social history to not only detail the truth of that day in March, but to understand the political environment preceding the fire, the trial after the fire, and its true consequences. In understanding the Triangle fire in its full context, Drehle demonstrates how, though it certainly had influence, progressive liberalism was largely a success for progressives and democracy in general.
History for the average person is most easily written the same way any popular story is: protagonists fighting and overcoming antagonists. In the case of progressive liberalism this would be the working class verses evil corporate leaders. What Drehle presents is a more complex system. This involves the demands of socialists immigrants being watered down by middle class progressives who did not need everything the socialists demanded. Rather than fulfilling the wants of socialists, it was easier (and eventually necessary) to meet the demands of progressives. Furthermore, though corporate leaders played their role hiring strikebreakers, influencing police, and maintaining improper facilities and conditions for the purpose of profit, much of the responsibility rested with the political machine. What becomes apparently important in the rise of progressive liberalism is not the shock induced by the Triangle fire, but the pressures Tammany Hall faced resulting from middle-class citizens supporting the labor movement.
As Drehle notes in an interview on NPR, Tammany Hall was the epitome of corrupt government, and could even be considered “organized crime.” Though business owners may have slowed the fight for progressive liberalism, overcoming Tammany Hall was the true success, and is a perfect example of democracy overcoming money. Drehle addresses that the best estimate is that over one hundred people died every day in workplace related accidents during the rise of American industrialization. The Triangle shirtwaist fire stands out now because it stood out for New Yorkers in 1911. For them it was a sign that what working class immigrants had been striking for may actually be a problem. Without the political enviroment created by socialists and progressives, the fire would have just been another disaster. What it did accomplish though, was a dramatic turn in popular support towards labor reform. For Tammany Hall this meant compromise or lose votes. The labor movement that had sprouted and was growing dramatically in New York’s Lower East Side was well on its way to influencing reform. What would have likely risen as a third party was diluted and appropriated into the democratic party, making it the party of progressive reform. This move, which preserved the democratic party for decades was a result of the Triangle fire.
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