Eve of the 1912 Election, Essay Example

In eve of the 1912 election, there has been a new light spread on the American Workplace. Not only did this election bring new political leaders, but it also provided a promise of change. The industrial setting, prior to this election was a dictatorship where the employers set the standards, and the workers had no choice but to comply. As the industry changed and the profit driven owners found the cost of production increasing, they were determined to cost in whatever manner they could. Six day work weeks, long hours, and slave-driven management would not allow workers to take a break. They docked the pay of their employees for needles, fabric, and equipment damage that occurred during usages. These employers knew that their employees were dependent upon the small pay they earned, and could dictate the terms no matter how unfair they were.

The Triangle Shortwaste Factory fire forced the government to address the current situation presented smack dab in the middle of industrial America. Inhuman work conditions, fractional wages, and political force is no longer a force to be reckoned with.  “In piecework they would reduce the time, requiring the same work in a shorter time, and paying the same wages; and then, after the workers had accustomed themselves to this new speed, they would reduce the rate of payment to correspond with the reduction in time! They had done this so often in the canning establishments that the girls were fairly desperate; their wages had gone down by a full third in the past two years, and a storm of discontent was brewing that was likely to break any day.” (Upton)

Women who went on strike to contest the rich getting richer at their expense were threatened and physically harmed by the people who were supposed to instill order and justice. This gloom hung over their head as to what sacrifice they will have to make in order to gain fair treatment and safety while at work. The push towards unions was contested violently, however this fire forced the government to take a new stand. Labor laws are being put into place, and work place safety is mandated. This fire resulted in 146 innocent people losing their lives, and the government can no longer turn their head and ignore how the industry is ran. The time for change is now!

The long hours with minimal pay will be no more. The unrepresented and unprotected workers will be no more. Work place safety is no longer optional. The unions were strongly contested because they protect the people. The government favored the industry, because that is where their financial support stemmed from. However, the government failed to uphold a vital part of their position, to protect the people. The Triangle Shortwaste Factory fire opened the eyes of the government and required them to provide protection for their people in the workplace.

The peoples’ expectations where fair. They expected to work in a safe environment where the government instilled laws for their protection. They expected fair wages. They expected reasonable work hours. The people expected the opportunity to create a life for themselves where they could get ahead by working hard to provide for themselves and their family. The government’s role in this American dream was to create laws that allows the industry to profit while protecting the people. Not only does the government need to continually revisit and revise these laws, but it also has to be responsible for enforcing it.

The populist movement was originally formed in the 1880’s, however it was not till 1892 that it was formally organized. The Omaha Platform created a plan for a fundamental democratic and cooperative spirit that had been lost. “We have witnessed for more than a quarter of a century the struggles of the two great political parties for power and plunder, while grievous wrongs have been inflicted upon the suffering people. We charge that the controlling influences dominating both these parties have permitted the existing dreadful conditions to develop without serious effort to prevent or restrain them. Neither do they now promise us any substantial reform. They have agreed together to ignore, in the coming campaign, every issue but one. They propose to drown the outcries of a plundered people with the uproar of a sham battle over the tariff, so that capitalists, corporations, national banks, rings, trusts, watered stock, the demonetization of silver and the oppressions of the usurers may all be lost sight of. They propose to sacrifice our homes, lives, and children on the altar of mammon; to destroy the multitude in order to secure corruption funds from the millionaires.” (The Omaha Platform).

The election of 1912 brings with it many hopes for the American people. A restored faith and optimism in the government. Work places that embrace the employees and provides a safe work environment. Fair hours and regulated work weeks. Age restrictions and governmental protect. This is a new era, not only for welcoming President Woodrow Wilson, but for embracing the change that the American people have been fighting for – for some time. The loss of life that occurred in the Triangle Shortwaste Factory fire was not in vain. Our government heard the cries of their people, and offered a new protection that was a long-time coming. It is a new America and it is time to celebrate the change!

Works Cited

The Omaha Platform: Launching the Populist Party. 14 September 2014. <http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5361/>

Upton Sinclair. The Jungle (chapter 11). 14 September 2014. <http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/sinclair/ch11.ht>