7others

If you ask New Yorkers, besides the bombing of the World Trade Center Towers on September 11, 2001, that which was the biggest disaster in New York City history, most would say the Triangle Shirtwaist Factor Fire of 1911, which killed 141 people, mostly women. But definitely the worst tragedy ever to take invest New York City was the now forgotten 1904 General Slocam paddle boat disaster, by which significantly more than 1000 German people, mostly woman and children, perished in an accident that certainly has been prevented.

Starting in the 1840’s, tens of thousands of German immigrants began flooding the low east side of Manhattan, which can be now called Alphabet City, but what was then called the Kleindeutschland, or Little Germany. Just in the 1850’s alone over 800,000 Germans came into America, and by 1855, New York City had the 3rd largest German population of any city in the world.

The German immigrants were different compared to Irish immigrants who, due to the Irish potato famine in Ireland, were also emigrating to New York City at a quick pace during the center area of the 19th century. Whereas the Irish were mostly lower-class laborers, the Germans were better educated and possessed skills that made them obtain a higher rung on the economic ladder than did the Irish. More than half the bakers in New York City were of German descent, and most cabinet makers in New York City were either German, or of German descent. Germans were also very active in the construction business, which during the time was very profitable, because of all of the large buildings being built in New York City during the mid and late 1800’s. To get more information on 7others please check out 7 Others

At this time, overcome by smoke inhalation, and with the flames flickering at their torsos, feet and faces, people began jumping to the water. Some were rescued by boats which had rushed near the fiery General Slocum. But most of the woman and girls, due to the bulky woman’s clothing of this era, quickly drowned. Some people died once the floors of the boat collapsed. Others were beaten to death by the still churning paddles, as they flung themselves on the sides of the boat towards the water.

Individuals who tried to use the life jackets up to speed were set for an awful surprise. Although there were 3000 life jackets available, they were all but useless. A large proportion were rotted out, with the cork within the jackets used for buoyancy almost entirely disintegrated. The people who did don living jacked and plunged to the water, immediately sank like a rock. Many people tried to dislodge the emergency lifeboats, nevertheless they failed to do this because the lifeboats were firmly wired in place.