The early 1900s were a period of many movements, from cities to rural farms; people united for various causes. One of the most widespread was the labor movement, which affected people all over the world. Working conditions in workplaces across the country were notoriously bad, but New York City fostered the worst. The factories were started in the city's buildings, which were extremely cramped, poorly ventilated and completely unsanitary. With the advent of skyscrapers, factories were moved out of buildings and into slightly larger buildings, always in deplorable conditions. Workers were forced to work long hours (around 12 hours) six hours a day, often for extremely low pay. Pay was also extremely lower for women, who made up a large portion of the shirtwaist industry. If a worker openly challenged an employer's rule, they would be immediately fired and replaced immediately. Additionally, strength in numbers doesn't always work. Leaders often hired brutal strikebreakers to end the strikes. Local police and courts were often of no help to workers, even when women were beaten. At the time, the needs of workers were not taken seriously and profit came before human life. This was not just a fight for workers' rights; it was also a movement for the freedom of the working class. Factory workers of this era had very little freedom. On top of having to work exorbitant hours 6 days a week, there was no job security, no solid way to survive on a daily basis, and if a family member was in an accident, families would not had no financial means to continue living. . In the early 1900s, there were no labor laws, including the right to organize, the eight-hour day, safety standards, or unemployment/disability pensions. M...... middle of paper ... Isaac Harris and Max Steuer, to name a few. If Von Drehle had not given these omens, their importance in this event would have been lost. The epilogue was also an extremely important part of the book. Von Drehle uses this section to explain what happened to key figures after the fire, such as Francis Perkins, who, he explains, became the first woman to hold a cabinet post under Franklin D. Roosevelt (Von Drehle , 263). Von Drehle also uses the epilogue to emphasize the importance that the event played in defining the meaning of liberalism in American politics, and how the event helped move the Tammany machine from the old to the new ( Von Drehle, 267). David Von Drehle did an incredible job highlighting the importance of the Triangle Fire in the labor movement of the early 20th century. Works CitedTriangle: The Fire That Changed America. David von Drehle. 2003.