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Pullman Strike Dbq

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On May 11, 1894 a widespread strike lead by railroad workers brought business to a complete cessation; only willing to discontinue until the federal government took unprecedented action to end the strike. The Pullman Strike began “as a peaceful labor protest against a single Chicago employer (54)”, and later ended up “into a national labor boycott of more than twenty railroads and then into a violent confrontation between the federal government, the railroad companies, and American workers (55.)” With the “mix of employer resistance, government aggression, worker bitterness, and general economic desperation (54)”, the Pullman Strike presented questions towards the “rights of employers and workers in an industrialized democracy and about the role …show more content…

With the closure of railroads “vital trade arteries in twenty-seven states were stalled and snarled, which meant delays and disruptions for travelers, manufactured goods, fuel, livestock, produce, and- most important- the U.S. mail (57.)” During the time of the Pullman Strike, urban newspapers “had become a vital part of American public life (58.)” Both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Times contributed to the production of stories of the Pullman Strike. On one hand, “the Chicago Tribune was opposed to the ARU boycott and the Chicago Times supported it (60).” With two popular newspapers publishing stories about the Pullman Strike, discrepancies are without a doubt present. It can be argued to a certain extent that media can help or hinder the cause of unions during the Pullman Strike because with each newspaper represented two different sides presenting biases, the validity of the information could be screwed due to deadlines, and because newspapers sometimes put on a “show” in order to get a desired reaction from the reader.

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