Age of Reform: Reforming the

Industrial Order1897-1920

Female & Child Laborers• Women faced barriers when trying to their income• Work too fast= earning more $= cut pay• Organize a protest= fired

Female & Child Laborers• Few child laborers could read, or never been to school• Worked to make ends meet• A 9 yr. old worked b/c he was forced to pay off his father’s (who

died in the mine) debt owed the company for rent

Labor Laws• Progressives campaigned for laws that stop/limit child labor &

improve conditions= female workers• 16 hr. days• Children in factories= worse conditions, orphans were made to work

• 1912, child-labor laws in 39 states• Limiting hours & night shifts & danger• Enforcement lacked

Labor Laws• Fought for higher wages• 37.5 million adults were working, 1/3 lived in poverty

• MA passed the nation’s 1st minimum-wage law= set wages for women & children

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

• NYC• Immigrant women & children= illegal • Long hrs., unsanitary, dangerous, low pay

• 1909, 400 employees went on strike• Owners disregarded workers’ rights

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire• Fire in 1911 highlighted the need for safety reform

• 500 employees working, fire erupted on the 8th floor • Escape was impossible= 2 stairways, doors locked• 146 died

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Aftermath• Outrage= laws helped workers• NY enacted the nation’s strictest fire-safety code

Quick Review• Which laborers were progressives focusing on in the early

1900s?

• What new labor laws got passed in the early 1900s?

• What conditions made the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire so dangerous?

• What was the outcome of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire?

Activity: Factory Fire• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdNYqBP_5q4• Video of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire• Write a diary entry as one of the survivors of the fire or an

eyewitness detailing what you saw and how you feel about it.• 1 paragraph