Van Drehle argued that the Triangle fire is a link in a chain of events that ultimately ignited urban liberalism. A common theme throughout Triangle: The Fire That Changed America is the pursuit for social justice, specifically labor rights. The Triangle fire occurred in 1911, towards the end of the Progressive Era, and Van Drehle focuses on the social issues that are already going on in the United States. The Triangle fire was used by Tammany Hall to gain power in New York politics; however, they unintentionally implemented and promotes social justice.
Social justice was very difficult to achieve during the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era was a time of corruption, led by the infamous Boss Tweed in Tammany Hall. Politicians that worked in Tammany Hall only helped those who would vote for them. Van Drehle argues that the name Tammany Hall is “synonymous with graft, corruption, and…the work of dishonest bosses.” They were mainly associated with the Democratic Party and struggled to appeal to the “new immigrants” of the 20th century, that is, until the Triangle fire. The new immigrants “had little sense of debt toward Tammany and even less affection,” so they were the vote that Tammany desperately needed. According to Van Drehle,”“The Triangle fire struck directly at those people that Tammany needed most,” which were the new immigrants. The main reason why Tammany was able to sway the new immigrants, mainly Jewish and Irish, into voting for them after the fire was because a “large percentage of those immigrants worked in garment shops, or had loved ones that did” and through people like Al Smith and Frances Perkins.
“The Triangle fire struck directly at those people that Tammany needed most”
Al Smith, one of the Tammany Twins, helped create and pass numerous reforms in the workplace, most of which dealt with fire safety. He listened and worked with Perkins and the immigrants and he eventually pushed twenty-five bills through, but three stood out in regards to the Triangle fire. The first one is the requirement of automatic sprinklers in high-rise buildings. The second, mandatory fire drills and the third was doors had to be unlocked during business hours and had to swing outward. Creating new fire safety rules and regulations was what businesses needed to have a safer working environment. The most crucial detail about these bills was it enforced them through a reorganized Department of Labor. Older policies existed, like the requirement of fire escapes (see picture), but corruption in Tammany Hall made it easy for business owners to avoid the inspections. The implementation of these new regulations helped promote social justice because it made working conditions safer. Immigrants did not just want safety, but less hours as well.
Frances Perkins lobbied for a variety of issues, including better working conditions. She witnessed the Triangle fire first hand, but it was this experience that “perfectly suited her to help redeem the tragedy of the Triangle fire.” The main bill she was lobbying for was the fifty-four hour bill. Passing this bill would affect over “300,000 women, nearly two-thirds of whom are employed in New York City” and would help create a safer working environment.
Tammany Hall helped people by giving them what they wanted, and through this method, they became extremely successful in New York. In the elections of 1913, over “two-thirds of the seats in both houses of the legistlature” belonged to Tammany Hall members. There were many reforms during the Progressive Era and the Triangle fire helped push many of them through committees. They also helped create a huge push for social justice through multiple reforms in the labor industry in New York, which eventually diffused into the rest of the country. They did not; however, try to lead the fight for social justice because all they cared about was staying in power.
Living History 