Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

1981

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

O'Sullivan, John

Abstract

Blast furnace work was particularly hazardous in the early years of the twentieth century. An accident which killed at least fourteen men at Jones & Laughlin Steel in 1907 puts the productive relationships and roles of an industrial society in stark relief. That explosion and others were related to the use of new raw materials, technological lag, and forced production to meet high demand. Subsequent investigation depended on the industry's own "experts" who predictably cited the incidents as unavoidable. Most victims received little or no compensation. State-administered compulsory compensation spurred the industry to reduce the carnage in the next decade. Workmen's compensation, generally inadequate, faced little resistance, for it protected the employer from unlimited recovery of damages. Occupational health hazards are more widespread and insidious today. The pressure of competition and costs provides a rationale for an ultimate rejection of the human factor in production.

Extent

167 p.

Comments

Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1981.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Identifier

FADT14081

Format

pdf

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