#1 ~ Railroad Strike (1877) pp. 170 in book (Bridge Book = 271)(Ship Book = 426) #2 ~ Haymarket Affair (1886) pp. 170 – 171 in book (Bridge Book = 272)(Ship Book = 426 – 27) #3 ~ Homestead Strike (1892) pp. 171 in book (Bridge Book = 272)(Ship Book = 427) #4 ~ Pullman Strike (1893) pp 171 – 172 in book (Bridge Book = 272 – 73)(Ship Book = 427 – 28)

Great Strike of 1877 July 1877 Workers for Baltimore & Ohio went on strike to protest wage cuts Strike spread to other railways, stopping passenger traffic for 50K miles Riots erupted President Hayes sent in federal troops Trains began running again August 2

Summary – Great Strike of 1877 After wage cuts, the first railroad strike occurred in Initial strikes quickly spread, and state militias were called out. Violence ensued, lives were lost, and costly damage was done. The arrival of U.S. Army troops put an end to the strike.

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877

Strikes and Turmoil (Strikes Clip)(Strikes Clip) The Haymarket Riot 1886 was a difficult year for labor. One of the worst clashes was at Haymarket Square in Chicago. A bomb was thrown in a crowd gathered to protest violent police action. Gunshots rang out, and eleven people were killed and hundreds injured before it was over. Foreign-born unionists were blamed for the violence, and the press fanned xenophobia. Eight men were charged with conspiracy, but no evidence connected them to the crime. All eight were convicted and sentenced to death. After four hangings and one suicide, the last three were pardoned.

The Haymarket Affair, 1886 May 4, 1886, 1200 people gathered at Chicago’s Haymarket Square to protest the killing of a striker by police Someone throw a bomb into the police line Police fired into crowd Seven police officers and several workers died in riot No one learned who threw the bomb, but the three speakers and five other radicals were charged with inciting a riot All eight were convicted Public turned against labor movement

Anarchists Meet on the Lake Front in 1886

Haymarket Martyrs

Haymarket Riot (1886) McCormick Harvesting Machine Co.

The Homestead Strike/Overview Unions made some gains, but conflicts continued. Carnegie Steel workers in Homestead, Pennsylvania, refused to work faster, and the manager tried to lock them out. The workers seized the plant. Gunfire erupted when private guards hired by the company tried to take control. After a 14- hour battle and fourteen deaths, the governor called out the state militia. The steelworkers’ union withered within months.

The Homestead Strike, 1892 (Clip)(Clip) Carnegie Steel Company’s Homestead plant in Pennsylvania ripe for a strike Henry Clay Frick, president, announced plan to cut wages Frick hired Pinkerton Detective Agency to protect the plant so he could hired scabs Violence: Three detectives, six workers dead, the steelworkers ousted the Pinkertons and kept the plant closed until the Pennsylvania National Guard arrived on July 12 Frick reopened plant Strike continued until November Effects: Union lost support, it took steelworkers 40 years to mobilize again

Homestead Steel Strike (1892) The Amalgamated Association of Iron & Steel Workers Homestead Steel Works

Attempted Assassination! Henry Clay Frick Alexander Berkman

Pullman Strike (Overview) After laying off a third of its employees in 1893, the Pullman Company cut the wages of remaining workers by 25 percent without lowering their rents. Workers went on strike with the support of Eugene V. Debs, the leader of the American Railway Union. The government ordered the strike be called off, but the union refused. President Grover Cleveland called in federal troops, and the strike collapsed. The late 1800s would remain an era of big business.

The Pullman Strike, 1894 Causes: -Panic of 1893 forced Pullman company to lay off 3K workers and cut wages -Company did not cut cost of employee housing and as a result workers took home less than $6/week -Post Depression: Hired back workers but failed to restore wages -Pullman refused to bargain -Eugene Debs, a Socialist, called for boycott of Pullman cars

The Pullman Strike, 1894 Effects: -120,000 railway workers joined strike -Debs notified strikes not to interfere with mail, but was unsuccessful -Railroad owners appealed to federal government -President Grover Cleveland sent in federal troops, a week later the strike was over -Pattern emerges: federal government does not recognizes unions

A “Company Town”: Pullman, IL A “Company Town”: Pullman, IL

Pullman Cars A Pullman porter

The Pullman Strike of 1894

President Grover Cleveland If it takes the entire army and navy to deliver a postal card in Chicago, that card will be delivered!

The Pullman Strike of 1894 Government by injunction!