It is so easy to forget the hardships our ancestors faced when they arrived in America. Most of them came with little money but they all had big dreams of making a better life. A majority of the immigrants during the early part of the last century came through New York City. It was incredibly difficult to make a living and many worked for slave wages in clothes factories called "sweatshops". Most of them were women as young as 13. They worked 14 hours a day, six days a week with only one 1/2 hour break. It was common for greedy owners to lock the doors so they would have to stay longer or to keep out the union organizers. This practice helped kill 146 women in 1911 in the worst fire (until September 11, 2001 Twin Tower fire) in New York City. This fire was catalyst in changing working conditions in America.