• Home
  • Thesis
  • Background
  • Workplace Struggles
  • Need for the NCLC
  • Formation of the NCLC
  • Exposing Child Labor
  • Changes To Sentiment
  • Failed Legislation
  • New Deal and Reform
  • Timeline
  • Conclusion
  • Paperwork
                   To Learn or to Earn?
    The National Child Labor Committee and the
             Fight to End Child Exploitation


Changes To Sentiment


Response to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

"Near closing time on Saturday afternoon, March 25, 1911, a fire broke out on the top floors of the Asch Building in the Triangle Waist Company. Within minutes, the quiet spring afternoon erupted into madness, a terrifying moment in time, disrupting forever the lives of young workers. By the time the fire was over, 146 of the 500 employees had died"
-Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations [2011]
 The media reaction to the fire reflected a drastic  change in public sentiment regarding  working conditions for young laborers.
"Down came the bodies in a shower, burning, smoking, flaming bodies...the floods of water from firemen's hoses that ran into the gutter were actually red with blood" -William Gunn Shepherd, eyewitness reporter for the United Press [1911]
Picture
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was located on the top floors of the Asch Building; when the fire broke out, many workers could not be rescued because the ladders reached only to the sixth floor--here the firefighters are shown attempting to at least put out the fire [American Federation of Labor, 1911]
Picture
Bodies of workers lie on the sidewalk as onlookers watch the fire consume the factory and policemen tag the bodies of the fallen [American Federation of Labor, 1911]
Reporter William Shepherd watched as policemen tied numbered tags to the bodies, and remarked:
“I recall their great strike of last year in which these same girls had demanded more sanitary conditions and more safety precautions in the shops. These dead bodies were the answer" [1911]
Newspaper headlines and political cartoons  published the day  following the fire revealed the outrage of the public.
"This incident has had great significance to this day because it highlights the inhumane working conditions to which industrial workers can be subjected. To many, its horrors epitomize the extremes of industrialism" 
-Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations [2011]
Omahan: March 26, 1911
New York Evening Journal: March 26, 1911
New York Tribune: March 26, 1911
The New York Herald: March 26. 1911
The New York Times: March 26, 1911
Hudson Reporter: March 26, 1911
click to enlarge and view captions
Picture
Cartoon published by the New York Evening Journal the day after the fire. The obvious criticism of the causes of the tragedy reflected the shift in public opinion towards child labor issues. [Library of Congress NCLC Collection, 1911]
Picture
Cartoon portraying an oppressive factory owner preventing the young workers from escaping the burning factory. The fact that this cartoon and many others like it were drawn indicates that the public was becoming more aware of oppressive employers. [Library of Congress NCLC Collection, 1911]
"Across the nation, people read about the triangle fire. Other states changed their laws too. Numerous factory safety codes, building codes, and fire prevention laws with stiffer penalties were passed during the next few years. Upset about the young ages of many workers, people worked harder to change child labor laws" -Historian Victoria Sherrow [1995]

Popular Culture Addressing Child Labor

Cartoons, poems, songs, and articles dated after the formation of the NCLC illustrated a  negative attitude towards child labor.
Picture
[Northern Illinois University Historical Society, 1916]
"Sandburg [author of poem] shows a special sensitivity to the plight of little children who are abused by the factory system" -Northern Illinois University Historical Society [2006]
If not for  the  leadership and  initiative of the NCLC,  the author of this poem may  not have even been aware of  the cruelties of child labor.
[Library of Congress NCLC Collection, 1912]
[Library of Congress NCLC Collection, 1912]
[Philadelphia North American, 1913]
[Women's Journal, 1916]
[Library of Congress NCLC Collection, 1914]
[George Eastman House NCLC and Lewis Hine Collection 1924]
click to enlarge and view captions
Picture
Article published in local newspaper from Washington, commending the work done by the NCLC [n.d.]
The children all grew up unlearned, they never went to school
They never learned to read or write, but they learned to spin and spool
Every time I close my eyes, 
I see that picture still
When textile work was carried on 
with babies in the mill [Babies in the Mill, 1962]

As a result of the NCLC's  leadership and their commitment to exposing child labor, society  no longer tolerated such blatant abuse of children, and  this  changed sentiment is  reflected   in it's  media and popular culture. 

Previous: Exposing Child Labor
Next: Failed LEgislation
Thesis: 
The leadership of the National Child Labor Committee piloted the social reform movement against the exploitation of children. By harnessing the power of propaganda to influence public opinion, the NCLC changed society’s perception, thus allowing for the passage of national legislation prohibiting the labor of children. The legacy of the NCLC lies not only in ending child labor,  but also in establishing a  precedent for  future federal regulation of labor. 
Niharika Boinpally and Divya Pakianathan
Senior Group Website
Word Count (Student Composed): 1166
Process Paper Word Count: 484