Examples Of Homestead Strikes In The 1890s

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In the decades following the civil war, the United States experienced rapid growth, leading to the development of multiple industries. All United States industries such as the agricultural industry, the railroad industry, the textile industry, and the oil industry had experienced rapid and excessive growth. This seemingly positive and rapid growth meant that the second half of the nineteenth century was to be filled with turbulence and defined by a national crisis. The United States was filled with turbulence during the 1890s with the consequential Panic of 1893, the rise of agrarian dissent and the Populist Movement; and widespread unemployment followed by significant and harsh violent labor strikes.
The panic of 1893 was the most severe …show more content…

Viewing it as a possibility to improve the terrible work hours, extremely low wages, and dangerous work conditions. The Homestead Strike is an example of unhappy workers striking and revolting for better working conditions, which encapsulates the essence of the 1890s national crisis. The Homestead Strike taking place in 1892 at Homestead Steel Works in Homestead, Pennsylvania. The strike was called by the Alalmgated Association demanding better conditions for the labor workers; almost immediately the strike meet resistance from the hired Pinkerton strikebreakers and the national guard. As the workers meet harsh resistance, the strike had managed to turn into a violent battle, and the lasting defeat of the workers left 10 strikers and 3 Pinkerton strikebreakers dead. With the strike ultimately defeated, the workers were forced to return to work on the company's harsh anti-worker terms. Only six months after the panic began, its effect was felt all throughout the United States; more than 8,000 businesses, 156 railroads, and 400 banks all failed due to economic pressure and depression. The panic had almost up to 1 million workers unemployed and 20 percent of the American labor force losing their jobs. The economic downturn that affected the American workforce and widespread unemployment of the 1890s contributed to the brutal national