The Role Of Strikes In The 1880s And 1890s

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Dissent, Depression, and War The 1880s and 1890s was an era of hard times, in which farmers and industrial laborers each fought for their own battles. While farmers united to fight for change, industrial laborers decided to take a stand. The laborers felt threatened as businesses combined into huge corporations. They wanted to fight for the workers’ rights to have better working conditions, higher wages, shorter working hours, and greater worker control in the increase of mechanization. Three major strikes took place in this time period. Two of which were the lockout of steelworkers in Homestead, Pennsylvania, and the Pullman strike in Illinois. In 1892, steelworkers in Pennsylvania squared off against Andre Carnegie in a decisive struggle …show more content…

Strikebreakers were non-union workers, who were brought in to keep the plant operating during strikes. The union vowed to not let the strikebreakers into the plant. On June 6, a lookout spotted an attempted smuggling of Pinkertons into Homestead by Frick’s instructions. As the word spread thousands of workers and their families crowed the river barges to keep them out. Fighting erupted and gunfire shots broke out, killing more than a dozen Pinkertons, and some thirty strikers. In the end, the Pinkerton surrendered and came ashore where they were beaten and cursed by the angry workers. Though the workers became victorious in the “battle of Fort Frick,” they didn’t win completely. Four days later, Frick pressured Pennsylvania’s governor to order eight thousand National Guard troops into Homestead to protect Carnegie’s property and take back the control of the town. In an attempt to reignite the uprising, Alexander Berkman attempted to assassinate Frick. But Frick survived, and the union lost any support and sympathy from the public. In the end, the Homestead strike failed. In November, the Homestead mill reopened and men returned to work with lower wages and longer work hours. The Homestead strike had inspired many workers, but it also became clear that without the power of government any labor unions would have a difficulty …show more content…

Debs, who pledged to organize all railway workers. Without union’s authorization, the three thousand workers went on a strike. Pullman countered by shutting down the plant. The strikers appealed to the ARU for aid. After slight hesitation, the ARU members voted to boycott all Pullman cars. By June 29, switchmen across United States refused any train that carried Pullman cars. The uprising quickly increased and the General Managers Association acted to overturn the Pullman boycott. Their strategy was to fire the switchmen and recruit strikebreakers. The reaction was that entire train crews walked off the job in show of support the Pullman workers. The strike soon spread to more then fifteen railroads. The boycott/strike stayed peaceful with no violent riots or property damage occurred. Debs made sure to let the union know that no violence should take place. However, the newspapers flooded stories that portrayed the protest as violent. In order to break the strike the railroads knew they needed the federal troops, however governor of Illinois refused observing that the boycott remained peaceful. Attorney General Richard B. Olney was determined to put down the strike, so he convinced President Grover Cleveland that federal troops are needed to protect the mails. Olney’s strategy worked and the president called out the army. Upon seeing the troops, violence erupted and in one day 25 workers were killed, 60 more were wounded.

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