Theodore Roosevelt took over as U.S. President at a time when the United States was in need of change. The issues I found most interesting in the videos are racism, rich industrialist rule of the country, construction of the Panama Canal, and the coal miners’ strike. I found it interesting that the videos portrayed Roosevelt as a progressive; I had always thought of him being a bit radical. I also did not know that many of his enemies thought him to be a bigot. According to the video, he justified his opinion of Afro Americans by saying that they were useful, important people; blacks were not as high on the social scale as whites. I found his invitation to Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House a contradiction to his being a bigot. …show more content…
History books and it is sad to think that they are part of our history. In the readings, it is sadder to learn that sweatshops are still in existence in places like New York and Los Angeles. One cannot help but compare the immigrant worker of the industrial era to the undocumented worker today. Both have a desperate need for jobs and have no recourse but to endure the conditions. I have always thought that the owners managed their own sweatshops; I did not know the managers were given a set amount of money to operate, hire, and pay the workers. This method of operation gave the managers too much opportunity for abuse. The managers ran the operation on a very small budget and kept the rest of the money for themselves. Although it was quite gruesome, the description of the workers trying to escape the fire was the most interesting part of the reading. I could not help but compare the victims jumping out the windows of the factories to the victims of the twin towers on 9/11 also jumping out of windows to escape the flames. The newspaper article in The Chicago Sunday Tribune is so descriptive, one can visualize a pile of bodies on the ground and the man pushing the women one by one out the window, thinking there were nets below to catch them. One can also visualize the workers trying to open the door to the stairwell that would have allowed them to escape the fire, the door that was locked by management to keep anyone from stealing. The descriptions of the law students helping the workers escape and the employee found alive on top of the dead bodies are so vivid. I viewed all the photos; they show the crowded, dark conditions in the factories. There were more men employed in these factories than what I expected. I found the editorial cartoons to be very good; they each made a strong point, such as who would be held accountable for the deaths of the victims. I found the entire assignment, readings, photos, and cartoons, very
Since the founding of the United States of America, many presidents have worked tirelessly in their posts to change our country for the better. Some have seen abounding success, while others have met a slow decline from glory. Of all of these generally noble and brave men, one especially has stood out; Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a remarkable idealist of a man and an amazing vehicle for change in America. While in office, this dignified man demonstrated many positive qualities, such as unrelenting optimism, heartfelt concern for both the populace and the land of America, and fierce determination to accomplish his goals.
("Theodore Roosevelt and the
Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most popular, important and progressive presidents of the United States. He showed many acts of courage as president, which greatly shaped the direction the county went in both domestic and foreign policy. Roosevelt showed courage even before his presidency, while he worked as a frontier sheriff across the midwest United States. Both his college education at Harvard and years of service as frontier sheriff prepared Roosevelt to be an effective US president. Roosevelt's courageous accomplishments had a very positive impact on the nation.
It was the fire, that caught America by surprise, the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire. Killing 145 workers, the workers were young immigrant women looking for jobs, some even as young as 13 were employed. Usually the workers would work 12 to 14 hour shifts a day, 6 days a week, getting payed only four to five dollars a week. The company was owned by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris. The book “Uprising” by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a historical fiction that teaches students about how working in a factory was. This book is about these three young girls named Yetta, Bella, and Jane began to realize the factory owners were cheating them and not paying the right amount they were told. So they went on strike and kept fighting for what they believed
In fact, he was the leader of the progressive movement. He continuously wanted there to be a happy balance between capital and labor so he founded his policy called the Square Deal. He was a liberal and became an advocate for prosecuting monopolies that violated antitrust law, otherwise known as “trust busting”. He kept these monopolies from controlling entire industries across the country. He worked hard to guide the United States into world politics. Roosevelt also aimed for Promotion of Anti-Trust suits. He was also a conversationalist. Some of his policies for conservation were creating the National Conservation Commission to record the nation’s resources and manage their use more efficiently, Delegate two hundred million acres as national forests, mineral reserves, and waterpower plants, as well as an addition of five national parks and eighteen national monuments to the list of protected lands. Roosevelt worked very hard to try and keep the economic issues of his time intact.
The factories housed the latest technology of the Gilded Age, such as the assembly line. The mass production that the assembly line brought about made the rich richer, but did nothing to help the poor. They were working long hours in sometimes extremely dangerous conditions. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was considered one of the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city. Since, the owners locked the doors to the stairwells and exits - due to theft and unauthorized breaks - many of the workers were trapped with nowhere to go. As a result 147 garment workers died from smoking inhalation and falling to their deaths. In response a newspaper published an article titled “Fire Trap Victims Buried Draft New Law to Save Shop Workers,” covers the stories of the survivors and witnesses as well as questioning who was at fault and what further actions would take place (Document
Sweltering heat, long hours, and unfair working conditions are a few descriptive words that Americans use to describe a sweatshop. I believe our judgment is being misguided by the success of our nation, and it is imperative we redefine the word “sweatshop”. Individuals that endure life in third world countries know hardships that Americans could not imagine. If we were to recognize these economical differences it may shine a light on why these workers seek sweatshop jobs. In many of these cases, children must work to aid in the family’s survival. If these jobs are voluntary and both parties agree to work conditions, it results in a mutually beneficial arrangement. One of the worst things we can do as outsiders, to help these impoverished
On a Saturday afternoon, March 25, 1911, a fire started on the top floors of a factory in New York, The Asch Building owned by the Triangle Waist Company. According to the owners, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris were practicing a common procedure in many factories to prevent workers from taking extra breaks and preventing theft. They locked the exit doors. These owners, weren’t held accountable for the deaths of the 146 employees. Numerous workers could not escape from the eighth, ninth and tenth floors. Max Blanck and Isaac Harris would go to trial for their actions of ignoring poor work conditions against “the people.” But this was a time when there was more greed with many factory owners. Owners were not being proactive in making their
Bosses of factories and bosses of other companies would pay low wages to their employees. Since of these low wages many people couldn’t support their families. Factory women workers got paid only one or three dollars a day and men got paid one to three dollars and some other companies only paid one or three dollars a week. The working environment of workers were cruel. When it was hot outside the factory would be hot but if it was cold outside the factory would be cold. The building were also crowded with people which is very bad for fires because there are so many people. Factory buildings also didn’t have sprinklers which made it difficult for putting out fires.In 1911 in a factory in NYC a lit ciggeritte got thrown in a bin and the whole factory went up in flames. This factory is named The Triangle Factory and there were many bad conditions that caused many women's deaths. One of the reasons was that everyday the doors to exit the building were locked till everyones shifts are over. No one could escape the building because they couldn’t open the doors to exit. Also, there was narrow hallways that only could fit one person at a time. Since of this, many people couldn’t escape because the line was so slow and it was too late and the flame caught up. Another condition was that there was many fire hazards that caused the fire. The bosses only had buckets of water to
As companies grow larger and more competitive, they are looking for cheaper ways to produce their wares and increase their profit. That is, after all, how companies are able to succeed, by giving their customers a comparable product for a cheaper price. This increases sales and the overall bottom line. Which seems to be a beneficial plan for both the companies and the consumers. That is, as long as the consumers don’t know how the product is being produced. The places that produce these products for an extremely cheap cost are called “Sweatshops”. A sweatshop is a small manufacturing establishment in which employees work long hours under substandard conditions for low wages. Sweatshops came about
Near closing time on Saturday afternoon, March 25, 1911, in New York City a fire broke out on the top floors of the Asch Building in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. One of the worst tragedies in American history it is known as the “Triangle Shirtwaist Fire”. It was a disaster that took the lives of 146 workers, most of which were women. This tragedy pointed out the negatives of sweatshop conditions of the industrialization era. It emphasized the worst part of its times the low wages, long hours, and unsanitary working conditions were what symbolized what sweatshops were all about. These conditions were appalling, and no person should ever be made to work in these conditions.
Thesis statement: Sweatshops, when left to operate without government intervention, are the most efficient way of out poverty.
During his presidency, outside of the office, Roosevelt established the model image of masculinity with his experiences as an explorer and a soldier, and was able to address the common people and their interests. In office, he set forth with expanding the federal government to restrict industries’ power, and he implemented many reforms throughout his terms. These reforms included nature preservation, refined foreign and domestic legislations, and social ordinances to dispute tensions among the American people. He advocated for the people, despite his stance as a Republican, and supported journalists known as muckrakers in their missions of exposing corruption within industry, urban life, and the government. This would ultimately lead to one of his most memorable speeches in United States history, a speech that announced what it meant to be progressive in a time of immorality and unfairness.
Americans love to shop. With malls everywhere you go, shopping just might be America's favorite past time! When you are out shopping though, do you ever stop to think where all of those clothes and shoes come from? When I was younger, well, actually until recently, I always thought they were all made by machines. Shirt machines, pants machines…you get the picture. I have learned, however, that for the most part, clothes are still made on sewing machines, by people, and often under circumstances that we can only imagine.
In sweatshops, the working conditions are terrible. Sweatshops are small factories with many workers crammed inside, causing poor air ventilation and exiting points blocked. Workers can work over 12 hours per day, 6 days a week and are not entitled to holidays or paid sick leave. Many are working in dangerous environment, being exposed to harmful chemicals such as Chromium and Sodium which violates their right to work in reasonable working conditions. Simultaneously, long working hours throughout the year and absence of leave deny workers’ rights to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.