Joey Ross- Questions 1 and 4 for Nov. 6

1. German Jews began to come to the US in large numbers from the 1830s onwards, resulting in an immigration of about 200,000. Why did they leave Germany and how did they make a living once they arrived in America?

Some Jews were leaving Europe and coming to America in search of new economic opportunity. But many actually decided to come to America because of the way they were being treated in Europe. There were a ton of restrictions on Jews in Germarny because of anti Semitic laws. For example, there were restrictions involving marriage, opening businesses and not allowing Jews to participate in various professions. Upon arrival in America, many Jews found it easier to practice their religion and open their own businesses. Jews made a living by being peddlers but eventually turned their businesses into large department stores, finance companies, and other corporations resembling what we see today.

4. What happened at the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire on March 25, 1911? What was the political impact of this fire?

On March 25th, 1911 a horrific event known as the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire occurred. A huge fire started in a clothing factory that many Jewish women worked in. The women were locked in the room they were working in illegally, and could not escape the fire. The fire department came, but the ladders that they brought did not reach the floor that the women were on. Out of desperation many of the women tried jumping from the ninth floor of the building to save their lives. At the time of this event, Jewish workers faced horrid working conditions. They would work about 59 hour work weeks, resulting in men being paid $3.81 a week while women were only getting paid $1.04 a week. The political impact of the fire was that people started to realize just how poor and unfair the working conditions that the Jews were dealing with were. in and how unfair and ridiculous their working conditions were.