Strikes During The Gilded Age Essay

Strikes had played a significant role during the Gilded Age ,and these were due to the worker being treated unfairly and standing up and fight for what they deserve. Different unions treated their workers differently, if the workers believed they were being treated just, then they would not go on strike and there would not be any conflicts. On the other hand, if the workers thought they were being treated unfairly then they would gain public attention and start a strike. Pullman hired people that were in need and a job, and this job would be their only chance achieving the American dream. They were put under harsh working conditions for sixteen hours a day (Pullman). A large portion of the workers were immigrants and freed slaves that were

starting a new life (Lemmon).
Workers were not given retirement and unemployment insurance (Lemmon). The workers had little pay and most were starving and could not support their families (Blount). The workers lived in Pullman, Illinois which was a town that Mr.Pullman forced his workers to reside in. The purpose of the town was for Mr.Pullman to make as much money as possible. This made him more money because the money that he paid them went back to him. The little money they are paid would go directly back to Pullan though the expenses of living in the town. They have to pay him for the rents and water, food and any cloths. The town provided schools, stores and churches. There were ten-thousand people that lived in the town. The residents complained about the town because the rents were too high. There were broken railroads and bridges collapsed. The houses had no heat, which most houses in other had during this time period (Lemmon).
The workers had very small wages and make an average of two dollars a day(Wages). Compared to others corporations it was relatively high. The rents in Pullman Illinois, were even more money than the average rent in Chicago. At Pullman the rent was 28 dollars and 96 cents,

while in Chicago the house would be anywhere from 18 dollars to 20 dollars(Wages).
The Pullman Strike violence started in 1984 was a result of George Mortimer Pullman treating his workers unfairly and his employers rebelling. The Pullman Palace Car Company manufactured railroad cars .Mr.Pullman was a staunch businessman as well as a perfectionist. He
wanted to make as much money as possible and the workers would be mistreated for this to occur.
When a big depression happened, many companies were losing more and more profits. More than one-third were fired of Mr.Pullman employees wages were reduced by twenty-five percent. (Blount). Even with lower wages the expenses of the already high rents stayed the same and refused to lower them.To the workers leaving Pullman, a large percent went to work for the American Railway Union (ARU). The ARU was growing to a recent successful strike against the Great Northern Railroad.
Since Pullman was again negative attention, John P. Altgeld the governor of Illinois wrote a letter to Mr. Pullman. The governor stated that workers were loyal to Pullman, but he was not treating them the way they should be treated. He also said that they gave their lives to him. The governor wants for Mr. Pullan to resolve the problem so that it can avoid conflict. He gave him the advice to remove all rent coats to solve the problem (Bender).
By early July, the federal government had acted by demanding federal troops to be sent to Chicago and a federal injunction had been issued. With the injunction, President Cleveland could strike and boycott as a federal issue. The troops were sent to attempt to try to avoid the violence. By the troops coming to Chicago, the workers got more frustrated. On July 6th, 1984, 6,000 rioters destroyed railcars. There were 6,000 federal and state troops with 3,100 police and 5,000 deputy marshals. There was a firing in a large crowd of people. There were anywhere from 4-30

people that were killed and many others that were wounded (Pullman). There were fires that spread and burned Pullman property.(Lemmon). Eugene Debs was the ARU’s president, and he
was trying to prevent violence.

He gave a moving speech for workers, but consequently the workers misunderstood it and got even more frustrated at Mr.Pullman. For this Debs was blamed for the violence and was arrested. On July 20th , the federal troops were recalled. From the strike there was damaged property. The railroads lost millions of dollars in revenue since they had to repair the damage.
Pullman did change his any of the policies. The conflict went up to the supreme court(Pullman). It was a right to trial by jury in a criminal case which is under the sixth amendment. The federal court injunction was that the strike was declared illegal. A positive that game out of this strike was that George Pullman was to blame and had a bad reputation. This one strikes In 1898 the court ordered Pullman Town sold off because it was incomplete with the spirit of America.
The Pullman Strike may have not been successful from the court ruling, it still had a power rull impact. What the strike was able to was make a point and give a negative reputation to Mr.Pullman. The railroad companies lost eighty million dollars in business lost and six million in property damages(Pittman). The Pullman Strike was the first federal injunction and lead a legacy to step up when something is wrong(The Pullman

Strike).