Cocaine, beer and steel beams: How did the workers pay for the American Dream?

Without insurance and without a future: Why America's builders died

11 men and 260 meters of emptiness beneath their feet. Who are they to you? Heroes who built America literally with their bare hands? Victims of a system where a worker's life was worth less than a steel beam? Or is it something greater? Perhaps this photo acts as a mirror? For the older generation, it’s a source of pride for "those days when people were tougher," while for the young, it’s a horror at the inhumanity of progress. If you're over 60, you’ll see "real men" from your youth here... If you're 20, you’ll shudder: "How did they even agree to this?!" But the truth lies in the details. This guy (third from the left)... in two months, he’ll fall from the 30th floor. And his family won’t get a single cent. Are their smiles fear? Bravery? Or cocaine in their first-aid kits? And why does this photo, taken in 1932, still give us chills? Today, we’re not just analyzing a picture. We’re analyzing—our memory.

Видео Cocaine, beer and steel beams: How did the workers pay for the American Dream? канала Time in colors