The Sinking of the General Slocum The History of New York City Deadliest Maritime Disaster (Audible Audio Edition) Charles River Editors Scott Clem Books
Download As PDF : The Sinking of the General Slocum The History of New York City Deadliest Maritime Disaster (Audible Audio Edition) Charles River Editors Scott Clem Books
There is a popular saying that claims timing is everything, and in no other field of study is that truer than in history. For instance, under normal conditions, a ship that sank with more than 1,000 passengers aboard - most of whom died - would be big news, yet today the sinking of the PS General Slocum is often overlooked if not entirely forgotten. While it might have generated the type of publicity and reaction of the Johnstown Flood of 1889 or the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 under normal circumstances, deadliest disaster in New York City's history before 9/11, and the second deadliest maritime disaster in peacetime in American history has become something of a historical footnote.
On June 15, 1904, an annual gala was held on the passenger ship as it steamed up the East River, with about 1,400 people from St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Consisting mostly of German immigrants, the boat was packed with women and children, and when a small fire started on the ship shortly after the trip began, faulty equipment was unable to put it out or stop it from spreading. On top of that, the lifeboats were tied up and the crew, which never conducted emergency drills, was unprepared for a potential disaster. When parents put life preservers on their children and then had them enter the water, they soon learned that the life preservers were also faulty and didn't float.
As the disaster unfolded, over 1,000 passengers burned to death or drowned, many swept under the water by the East River's current and weighed down by heavy wool clothing. Few people on board knew how to swim, exacerbating the situation, and eventually the overcrowded decks began to collapse, crushing some unfortunate victims.
In the end, the General Slocum sank in shallow water while hundreds of corpses drifted ashore, and the fallout was immediate. The captain was indicted for criminal negligence and manslaughter, and the ship's owner was also charged. While the captain would receive a 10 year sentence, the company in charge of the General Slocum got off with a light fine. In a somewhat fitting postscript, the ship was salvaged and converted into a barge, only to sink once again during a heavy storm in 1911.
Time heals all wounds, but in the case of the Slocum disaster, the wounds weren't so much healed as overshadowed. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire took over 100 lives in New York City in 1911 and led to calls for serious workplace reforms, and a few years later, World War I began in Europe. With that, much of the sympathy Americans previously felt for the loss of over 1,000 German lives on the Slocum evaporated.
The Sinking of the General Slocum The History of New York City Deadliest Maritime Disaster (Audible Audio Edition) Charles River Editors Scott Clem Books
To be honest I never heard of the ship by the name of General Slocum and therefore, I did not know that the disaster on board the ship was the second worst ship related disaster in US history. This book was both brief and concise. I guess one of the reasons why this disaster is not common knowledge is because the passengers on this ship were primarily women and children who were working-class German immigrants who lived in one of the boroughs of New York City. The victims were primarily from St. Mark’s Episcopal Lutheran Church. It’s hard to believe from an early 21st century perspective that there were no laws that regulated that equipment on ships should be seaworthy and the cruise employees properly trained in their use. Having been on several cruises, I can safely say that the crews are trained to assist passengers in an emergency, and the passengers have at least one emergency drill during their trips. I recommend that everyone should read this book to understand why the federal government has created many rules and regulations that seem wasteful and stupid; nevertheless, the rules tend to be an enacted for the safety of the consumer.Product details
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The Sinking of the General Slocum The History of New York City Deadliest Maritime Disaster (Audible Audio Edition) Charles River Editors Scott Clem Books Reviews
Short and very informative. Given a description of the tragedy by actual accounts from survivors. The enclosed pictures helps put you in that place and time. Anticipation of the journey, following the events of the tragedy, to aftermath which followed, only leads you to want to know more, as you feel the lost, and grief, and bittersweet retribution of this tragedy.
And that is the problem. This book is basically cut and paste from contemporary reports. While those are interesting, it shows a lazy author who only writes a few words between the quotes. Minus one star. There is also no attempt to put the disaster in historical context and information on the subsequent investigations is nonexistent other than the verdicts.
Well written 'summary' of events. Nothing new that was omitted from 'Ship Ablaze'.
Shame on for placing the page count way at the bottom of a very, very long blurb about this book. Shame on me for not scrolling down far enough to see it. Having just read Ship Ablaze I was rather disappointed in this book (booklet actually). Still deciding whether or not to return it. If you're looking for the whole story this is NOT the book to buy. Ship Ablaze is.
To be honest I never heard of the ship by the name of General Slocum and therefore, I did not know that the disaster on board the ship was the second worst ship related disaster in US history. This book was both brief and concise. I guess one of the reasons why this disaster is not common knowledge is because the passengers on this ship were primarily women and children who were working-class German immigrants who lived in one of the boroughs of New York City. The victims were primarily from St. Mark’s Episcopal Lutheran Church. It’s hard to believe from an early 21st century perspective that there were no laws that regulated that equipment on ships should be seaworthy and the cruise employees properly trained in their use. Having been on several cruises, I can safely say that the crews are trained to assist passengers in an emergency, and the passengers have at least one emergency drill during their trips. I recommend that everyone should read this book to understand why the federal government has created many rules and regulations that seem wasteful and stupid; nevertheless, the rules tend to be an enacted for the safety of the consumer.
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