After the Fire: Investigations
One result of the public outcry after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was that the New York governor appointed a commission to investigate factory conditions -- more generally. This State Factory Investigation Committee met for five years, and proposed and worked for many legal changes and reform measures.
After the Fire: Triangle Factory Fire Trial
New York City District Attorney Charles Whitman decided to indict the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on charges of manslaughter, on the grounds that they had known that the second door was locked.
Max Blanck and Isaac Harris were indicted in April 1911, as the D.A. moved swiftly. The trial was held over three weeks, beginning on December 4, 1911.
The result? Jurors determined that there was reasonable doubt whether the owners knew that the doors were locked. Blanck and Harris were acquitted.
There were protests at the decision, and Blanck and Harris were re-indicted. But a judge ordered them acquitted on the grounds of double jeopardy.
Civil suits were filed against Blanck and Harris on behalf of those who had died in the fire and their families -- 23 suits total. On March 11, 1913, nearly two years after the fire, these suits were settled -- for a total of $75 per victim.
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: Index of Articles
- Quick Overview of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
- Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Picture Gallery
- Background: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
- The 1909 "Uprising of the Twenty Thousand"
- 1910 Cloakmakers' Strike - the Great Revolt
- 1911 - Conditions at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
- The Fire
- After the Fire: Identifying the Victims, Newspaper Coverage, Relief Efforts
- After the Fire: Memorial at the Metropolitan Opera House, Public Funeral March
- After the Fire: Investigations, Trial
- Frances Perkins and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
- Triangle Factory Fire Trivia
- Bibliography, Media
