After the Haymarket Riot, labor organizers and socialists in countries around the world began celebrating May 1 as Workers Day—an occasion U.S. government officials had no interest in sanctioning. Meanwhile, other cities had followed New York’s lead in holding Labor Day celebrations in early September. In 1887, Oregon became the first state to make it an official holiday; by 1894, 22 other states had passed similar legislation.Angry Pullman workers walked out in May 1894, and the following month, the American Railway Union (ARU) and its leader, Eugene V. Debs, declared a sympathy boycott of all trains using Pullman cars.

Question

The Pullman strike effectively halted rail traffic and commerce in 27 states stretching from Chicago to the West Coast, driving the General Managers Association (GMA), a group that represented Chicago’s railroad companies, to seek help from the federal government in shutting the strike down.In 1893, George Pullman laid off three-quarters of his employees, cut wages for many of the ones he brought back by nearly 30 percent, and refused to reduce rents or store prices in the company town he operated south of Chicago. The following year, the American Railway Union, headed by Eugene V. Debs, announced a nationwide boycott of all trains carrying Pullman cars, to support the ARU local whose workers were employed by Pullman. The Pullman strike was the first instance in American labor history of a sympathy action, in which workers who aren’t directly involved in a dispute intervene to help fellow laborers.

The ARU managed to shut down rail travel in 27 states, an area stretching from Chicago to the West Coast, according to Indiana State University labor historian Richard Schneirov. But after Pullman’s company joined forces with railroad managers, President Grover Cleveland’s Attorney General Richard Olney convinced a federal judge to issue an injunction against the strikers, and Cleveland himself sent 10,000 federal troops in to suppress the strike. Most of the strikers eventually were rehired, except for union leaders who were blacklisted by Pullman. Debs served six months in prison for violating the injunction and used his time behind bars to read Karl Marx’s Das Kapital. After his release, he became active in the Socialist Party and ran five times for U.S. president. The Pullman Strike (May–July 1894) was a violent confrontation between railroad workers and the Pullman Palace Car Company of Illinois. It tied up rail traffic across the United States before it was halted by federal injunction. In the wake of the Panic of 1893, the Pullman Company cut wages, but it did not lower rents or other charges to employees in the company town of Pullman, now part of Chicago. When representatives of the American Railway Union protested (May 11), they were fired. Eugene V. Debs, the head of the union, then called for (June 26) a boycott of all Pullman cars. On July 2, Att. Gen. Richard Olney obtained a court injunction to halt the strike. Federal troops arrived in Chicago two days later. Rioting broke out, and several strikers were killed, but by July 10 the strike had been broken. Debs and other top union officials were jailed for disobeying the injunction.

What was the impact of the boycott on rail service in surrounding Chicago? How did the federal government react to the strike? Describe the violence that occurred on July 7, 1894 answer this using the paragraphs.

Answer 1

The boycott initiated by the American Railway Union (ARU) had a substantial impact on rail service in and around Chicago, effectively halting rail traffic and commerce in 27 states, stretching from Chicago to the West Coast. This widespread disruption stemmed from the solidarity shown by workers who were not directly involved in the dispute but chose to support their fellow laborers in the Pullman strike, marking the incident as a significant instance of sympathy action in American labor history.

In response to the strike, the federal government reacted aggressively. President Grover Cleveland’s administration, through Attorney General Richard Olney, sought to suppress the strike by obtaining a federal injunction against the strikers. Subsequently, Cleveland ordered 10,000 federal troops to Chicago to enforce this injunction and restore order. This military intervention illustrated the government's stance against the strike and its commitment to maintaining rail service and commerce.

Violence erupted on July 7, 1894, as riots broke out in Chicago while federal troops were sent to break the strike. This confrontation led to several strikers being killed, highlighting the intense and often brutal nature of the conflict between laborers and the federal government during this period. By July 10, the strike had been effectively crushed, and the leaders of the union, including Eugene V. Debs, were jailed for violating the injunction, further illustrating the harsh repercussions faced by labor organizers during this time.