America before the Triangle fire and before the 1910s was predominantly conservative. The U.S. Presidents between 1897 and 1913, McKinley, Roosevelt, and Taft, were all members of the Republican Party. New York was no exception. The citizens of New York as well as Tammany Hall, the political machine of New York City, were mostly conservative and did not see a need for change. The Progressive Era was just beginning and had not yet become widespread throughout America. Over the next few years, however, change would sweep across the nation and the Progressive Era would begin rapidly gaining supporters. Much of this can be contributed to a single, large, focusing event: the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory