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My paper will seek to understand the role that demographical similarity between those affected by disasters and those responding to disasters plays in the mobilization and formulation of aid and legislation. More specifically, I’m curious if aid is more likely to come from those who are demographically similar to victims. I will examine the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the Triangle Fire of 1911. I find these two sources to be of particular interest due to the ways in which their contrasting narratives might manifest themselves into contrasting aid objectives. Much of the narrative surrounding the Chicago Fire centered on upper class hardships due to the removal of social barriers and subsequent abuse by Chicago’s lower class. In contrast the dominant narrative of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire centered on the exploitation of the lower class by a predatory and greedy upper class. One of the questions that must be addressed in order to pursue this topic is whether or not differing focuses on aid, in particular maintenance of class boundaries versus lower class protection, developed over time rather than as specific responses to each disaster. More specifically, was the lower class focus of the Triangle Fire’s recovery a product of the ‘progressive era’ rather than specific to the Triangle Fire itself? Conversely, was the upper class focus of the recovery efforts for the Great Chicago Fire stem from the era’s emphasis on speculation and economic productivity over social responsibility? Answers for this question could potentially be found by comparing which organizations led the relief efforts for disasters occurring around the time of the Chicago fire and the Triangle fire. Another question is whether the response to the Chicago Fire even favored the upper class over the lower class? The existence of committees such as the “Special Relief Committee” of the Relief and Aid Society suggests that it might have, though this was only a small facet of the recovery effort. A third question that is extremely central to the overarching thrust of this paper revolves around the rationale of charity. Are people more inclined to provide aid when they can identify with the victims of a disaster? This has important implications for both the Chicago Fire and the Triangle fire; an understanding of who is leading the relief effort is invaluable for understanding the type of relief that the disaster prompted. Primary sources that will be valuable for understanding both this question and the topic on the whole include newspaper articles (particularly whether an event is more likely to be discussed by a progressive or conservative paper), records of donations (who was most compelled to give aid), accounts of rallies or demonstrations following the disaster (the funeral processions following the Triangle Fire were absolutely massive and demonstrate overwhelming conviction despite many of its participants being too poor to donate), and records of the organizations leading the relief effort (the Chicago Fire was led by the a society comprised of industrial leaders, the Triangle fire was led by unions and women’s societies).