Across the 19th and 20th centuries, American industrial workplaces advanced to what we have now, but not without a long history of preventable tragedies. Repeated patterns of mismanagement, weak oversight, and ignored warnings left workers across the country exposed to danger. In this exhibit, you will be brought forth images and general knowledge regarding such events.
After this exhibit, you will leave with extended knowledge about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, the Thiokol Disaster, and how they relate to the larger topic of industry greed and poor working conditions.
The Triangle Shirtwaist fire of 1911 took place in a building formerly known as the Asch building in Manhattan, where a deadly fire spread from the eighth floor upwards, claiming 150 of the 500 workers' lives. Many of these victims were young immigrant workers, predominantly Italian and Jewish, though many of these workers hailed from Southern Europe. The gruesomeness of this event outraged the general public. Their anger was only fueled by the revelation that not only was this event foreseen by protesters, but then silenced by the owners of said factory through means of intimidation.
The Shirtwaist Kings https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/shirtwaist-kings/
Photo of the working conditions found in the shirtwaist factory https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/triangle-shirtwaist-factory-fire-transformed-protections-american-workers
Triangle Shirtwaist memorial https://rememberthetrianglefire.org/memorial/
Approximately 60 years later, another tragedy that took place in Woodbine, Georgia, shook the nearby town. A factory designed to help with the efforts of the Vietnam War by creating flares and to be a solution for the unemployment rate resulted in 50 workers being wounded and 29 losing their lives in the explosion that took place on February 3rd, 1971. Much like its predecessor, gross neglect and poor conditions contributed to the number of individuals hurt or fatally killed.
Many dangerous chemicals were used for said flares produced in the factory to be created such as Magnesium and Potassium Nitrate- chemicals that were purposefully misclassified as less harmful than they actually were, so flares could be mass produced.
While tragic, the explosion not only reformed how emergency services responded to mass events like this, but also helped in OSHA’s remaking. During a time like this, when the majority of victims were African American women, the response from Brunswick and the surrounding towns was something not one would expect during a time of civil rights still being battled. Many nearby hospitals that had a spare bed housed survivors and could be credited for the lower mortality rate of this event.
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