Pullman Strike Thesis

Have you ever wondered what it would be like without transportation? In the 1890’s the railroad system, the main source of transportation at that time, came to a halt after a strike called the Pullman Strike. A severe depression had hit the United States in 1893. This hit a railroad manufacturing company called the Pullman company hard. The Pullman Strike occurred a year later, as an effect of the depression. It had a huge impact on working hours, wages, people losing jobs, as well as transportation for people and goods. The Pullman Strike also was an influential turning point for labor movement and laws in the United States. The conflict between railroad workers and the Pullman company during the strike was influential because

He started this company in Chicago, Illinois, hiring workers in the town to work for him. Following the economic depression in America in 1893, Pullman changed the conditions of these workers. He cut wages, increased working hours, and laid off some workers. On May 11, 1894, several thousands of train workers responded to these conditions, starting an unannounced strike at the Pullman Company in Illinois. During the next couple of months many people died due to the violence that was going on in this strike. The Pullman strike soon became a nationwide railroad strike in the United States. Since many people lost their jobs after the depression, they had to go try to find a new job which was not easy under the conditions of a strike. When they found a job, many took a huge pay cut often receiving thirty percent less of what they were making before the strike. The Pullman Strike also had an impact on transporting people and goods. This was a problem because back then trains were a main source of transportation. Nowadays, there are additional means of transportation, such as trucks and

The strike affected not only the conditions of workers and industries but also the economy. The United States labor laws set the rights and responsibilities for employers, unions, and employers. The aftermath of the strike forced the government to study what caused this strike, trying to find answers as to what caused the disruption and what happened during the boycott. The Pullman strike had an effect of the direction of the labor movement in the United States. The strike became one of the most influential events in the history of United States labor law. The labor law in 1894 in the United States was changed in a significant way after the strike, as it was the first strike that received national attention and tested labor laws. The government intervened in the relationship between employers and their workers. For the first time an injunction by the government was used to break up a strike and block a major union activity. Many industrials and unions were affected by this intervention. The President and the Supreme Court continued to intervene with the continual struggle between labor and employers. The American Railroad Union had been broken up after the injunction. Workers that were affected in the strike had depression and could not find jobs. Companies were affected because they had difficulty finding workers who would work under their conditions. The wages were very low and that made it hard to