Over 1,000 people died when the
General Slocum, a passenger steamship, caught fire in New York's East River in 1904. It was the city's worst loss-of-life disaster until the attacks of September 11, 2001. Van Schaick, the ship's captain, was indicted for negligence and failure to maintain fire safety equipment and received a 10 year sentence. He was paroled after serving 3½ years in prison and later pardoned by President Taft. Why were most of the passengers unable to escape the fire?
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