Today in History: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

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International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union Archives, Kheel Center, Cornell University.

Today is the 105th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of New York City and one of the most gruesome the United States has ever seen.  The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers, the majority women, who died from fire, smoke inhalation and jumping to their deaths.  Most of the victims were recent Jewish and Italian immigrant woman, aged 16-23 years old, with two victims being as young as 14.  The factory was located on the 8th and 9th floors of the Asch Building in NYC.  The owners had locked the doors to the stairwells and exits (a then common practice) to prevent both theft and deter workers from taking unauthorized breaks, causing many workers to become trapped in the burning building.  This horrible tragedy led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards as well as helped to spur the growth of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU).

Check out the front page of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle from the day following this horrific tragedy:

Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Vol 72. No. 84. March 26, 1911. p. 1.

165 Years Ago Today- The First "National Woman's Rights Convention"

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A poem read at the National Woman's Rights Convention, and reprinted in William Lloyd Garrison's The Liberator on November 15, 1850.

Circa 1870 Photograph of Lucretia Mott by F. Gutekunst of Philadelphia, PA.

On October 23, 1850, in Worcester, MA, women from across the country met for the first time to create a organized plan of action for gaining equal rights.  The Seneca Falls Convention had been held two years earlier, but that meeting had been somewhat impromptu, and was only regional.  The National Woman's Rights Convention was planned for months, and included participants from across the country.  Twenty years later, in 1870, Elizabeth Cady Stanton would state that the Women's Rights "movement in England, as in America, may be dated from the first National Convention, held at Worcester, Mass., October, 1850."

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was not present herself at the convention, because she was about to give birth, but she sent a letter that was read to the crowd, giving her support to the movement. Among those who were in attendance were Lucretia Mott, Lucy Stone, William Lloyd Garrison, and Frederick Douglass; the latter two famous abolitionists being some of  the original male Feminists.  The causes of abolition and women's rights had a complicated relationship; women like Stanton, Mott, and Stone started their activist careers as abolitionists, but were outraged to find that many male abolitionists would not allow them to speak publicly for the movement, or to play an active role in the cause. This inspired these women to start demanding equal rights from themselves.  Many male abolitionists supported the movement, like Garrison and Douglass, believing there should be equal rights for all.  Others saw these women as stepping outside their intended role; the Evangelical community made up a large percent of the anti-slavery movement, and believed these women's ideas went against the Bible's teachings.

Lucy Stone

Along with the many speeches given and debates had over two days, the Convention formed the first organized committees for a cohesive movement across the country.  These committees created local chapters, and addressed fundraising, publicity, education, employment, and lobbying, among other needs and goals. This fundamentally changed and strengthened the movement- putting forth a unified message to the world.  The Convention became a yearly event, and continued to gain momentum and attendees.  

An example of the backlash from the Convention, reprinted by The Anti-Slavery Bugle.

These efforts helped to give women better property rights and rights to the wages they earned, more legal standing within the family structure- including parental rights and the increased ability to initiate a divorce, and eventually suffrage.  Without these brave women, and men, we ladies would not be where we are today! So raise a glass to the National Woman's Convention, and celebrate that you live in the 21st century they helped to create!  Or ladies, just wear some pants, show little ankle, revel in your independent checking account, go to work, and earn a fair wage!

History, Witticisms, Girl Power: Welcome to Our Website

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Hi all, Alex and Caitlin here! This will be our first official post on our spanking new website. We have uploaded and post-dated material from the Facebook page, so we can look back together on some of our past history adventures with fondness too.

With this upgrade, we hope to continue bring you the best in fun factoids, hilarious history lessons, crafty research tips, and current events soon to be historical. Plus some extra nerding out over everything from pizza to Star Wars. Basically, we blog about the things that make us laugh, cry, and generally appreciate the past and the present. We hope you enjoy, and let us know what you'd like to hear more about!

For our inaugural  post, we are sharing our favorite find from some newspaper scouring we did this past week while in search of a few Civil War soldiers later in life. This political cartoon was published on June 9, 1919; five days after the proposed 19th Amendment was passed by the Senate.  As the cartoon depicts, women had a lot more small hurdles left to go before they officially had the vote.  But, the following day, on June 10th, the first three states-Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan-ratified the 19th Amendment.  On August 26, 1920, 3/4s of the states had ratified, and the 19th Amendment was officially enacted. Mississippi didn't bother to ratify until 1984 however... Oh Mississippi.

God Save the Queen!

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Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne for more than 63 years and today, September 9, 2015, marks a new milestone for the British monarchy. As of today, the Queen becomes the longest-reigning monarch in British History!

Born April 21, 1926, Elizabeth was never expected to rule. Elizabeth’s uncle became King Edward VII in 1936, but the course of history was changed when he abdicated later that year to marry foxy American divorcee Wallis Simpson; allowing his younger brother, Elizabeth’s father, to become George VI. Elizabeth ascended to the throne in February 1952, when her father died of lung cancer, and has been ruling ever since.

Amazingly, Elizabeth’s tenure on the throne has seen 12 British Prime Ministers, 12 US Presidents and seven Popes. She is Britain’s 40th monarch (and only the 6th Queen!) since William the Conqueror took the crown over a thousand years ago.

During her rule she has visited over 116 countries and still attends hundreds of engagements each year, and at the young age of 89 is still looking as fabulous as ever!

If the Queen lives to the same age as her mother (the ripe old age of 101), on February 6, 2022 she may become the first British Ruler to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee, which sounds like the party of the century!

To celebrate, we have been looking at some older pictures of the Queen. We can't believe how much has changed in the world since she was born!

God save the Queen!

586 Years Ago Today- Joan of Arc Fulfills Her Mission

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Image of Joan of Arc from a 1505 manuscript.

Image of Joan of Arc from a 1505 manuscript.

586 years ago today, in 1429, Charles Le Dauphin was crowned King Charles VII of France at Reims Cathedral; all thanks to the help of a nice farm girl who heard voices. Joan of Arc (Jeanne in French) was only thirteen when God began speaking to her (hopefully in the voice of Alan Rickman, ‪#‎dogma‬) and charged her with the holy mission to expel the English from France, and install Charles Le Dauphin as king.

Taking her father to court over his attempt to force her into an arranged marriage, and talking the local magistrate into an audience with Charles, after successfully predicting the outcome of an important battle; at seventeen, Joan convinced Charles to give her an army to drive the English and their allies, the Burgundians, from the French city of Orleans which had been under siege for months, and was key to the defense of central France. Joan led her army to a great victory, then guided Charles through enemy territory to Reims Cathedral- the traditional site for the coronation of French kings.

Portrait of Joan of Arc painted by Andrew C. P. Haggard in 1912, eight years before her canonization.

Portrait of Joan of Arc painted by Andrew C. P. Haggard in 1912, eight years before her canonization.

Thus Joan saw her visions fulfilled; but her great triumphs and popularity with the people unfortunately made her a threat to the patriarchal infrastructure. When Joan was captured by the English and Burgundians, King Charles VII made no attempt to negotiate her release. Joan was tried for witchcraft and heresy- her major alleged misdeeds being that she claimed she spoke to God, and that she dressed like a man (her actual misdeed; kicking ass while female). After a year in captivity, she actually signed a confession, denying God had spoken to her, but after she emerged in men's clothing several days later, she was sentenced to death and burned at the stake at the age of nineteen.

Joan's victory and Charles VII's ascension to the throne marked a turning point in the Hundred Years' War between England and France. 22 years after Joan's death, and 116 years after the start of the war, France emerged victorious, and retained control of their monarchy. Charles VII then ordered a posthumous retrial for Joan, and her name was cleared. By 1920, when Joan of Arc was officially canonized, her story had risen to mythic proportions and remained in the public conscious for almost 500 years.

Statue of Joan of Arc which now graces the front of Reims Cathedral.

Statue of Joan of Arc which now graces the front of Reims Cathedral.