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What were the causes and effects of the Pullman strike?
President Cleveland sent in federal troops to handle strikers, which led to violence. Railway companies started to hire nonunion workers to restart business. By the time the strike ended, it had cost the railroads millions of dollars in lost revenue and in looted and damaged property.
Who was responsible for the Pullman strike?
Eugene Debs
The American Railway Union (ARU), led by Eugene Debs, was trying to organize rail workers all across the country. The Pullman workers joined the ARU, and Debs became the leader of the Pullman strike.
What was the Pullman strike in simple terms?
The Pullman Strike was a nationwide railroad strike in the United States in the summer of 1894. It pitted the American Railway Union against the Pullman company, the main railroads, and the federal government of the United States under President Grover Cleveland. They had not formed a union.
What happened in the Pullman strike?
Outbreak of the Pullman Strike A mob burning freight cars during the Pullman Strike in Chicago, 1894. In 1893, during a nationwide economic recession, George Pullman laid off hundreds of employees and cut wages for many of the remaining workers at his namesake railroad sleeping car company by some 30 percent.
What did the Pullman Strike want?
| Pullman Strike | |
|---|---|
| Date | May 11, 1894 – July 20, 1894 |
| Location | Began in Pullman, Chicago; spread throughout the United States |
| Goals | Union recognition Wage increase Rent reduction |
| Methods | Strikes, Protest, Demonstrations |
When did the Pullman strike start?
May 11, 1894
Pullman Strike/Start dates
The most famous and farreaching labor conflict in a period of severe economic depression and social unrest, the Pullman Strike began May 11, 1894, with a walkout by Pullman Palace Car Company factory workers after negotiations over declining wages failed.
What was the cause of the Pullman Strike?
Among the reasons for the strike were the absence of democracy within the town of Pullman and its politics, the rigid paternalistic control of the workers by the company, excessive water and gas rates, and a refusal by the company to allow workers to buy and own houses.
What was the outcome of the Pullman Strike?
The significance of the Pullman Strike was enormous. At its peak, approximately a quarter-million workers were on strike. And the work stoppage affected much of the country, as effectively shutting down the railroads shut down much of American business at the time.
When was the Pullman Strike?
Pullman Strike. Written By: Pullman Strike, (May 11, 1894–c. July 20, 1894), in U.S. history, widespread railroad strike and boycott that severely disrupted rail traffic in the Midwest of the United States in June–July 1894.