Working Conditions in America (1880s -1910s)

1. Working Conditions in America (1880s -1910s) US History: Spiconardi

2. Issues workers faced • Unsafe conditions • Severe injuries • Mangled limbs, infected cuts, chronic illness • Long Hours • Low pay

3. The Mills What dangers would a child face in this textile mill? Why would a child be hired for this type of work?

4. The Mills What do you think this little girl’s job was? What dangerous conditions do you think she faced?

5. The Mills What was the boy in the foregrounds job? What unsafe conditions did he face? What happened to the boy in the middle?

6. Steel Factories What are some possible safety issues steel factory workers may have faced?

7. The Mines How would you describe the children who worked in the mines?

8. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory • One of the largest industrial accidents in New York City’s history • 146 dead • 70 injured • Workers, mostly females, were trapped inside a factory in Greenwich Village during a fire. • Doors were locked • Fire escape collapsed Horse drawn fire engines on their way to the fire

9. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Many women jumped out of the building, as that was their only hope of escaping the fire.

10. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Forty bodies on the sidewalk of the fire’s victims.

11. Reforms • The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire called attention to the condition’s workers faced • States passed new safety laws to protect factory workers • Limited the number of hours that could be worked per day (10 hours) and per week (60 hours) • Banned women and children from working in mines • Some reforms would be overturned or limited by the courts