worker to a reporter for the Chicago Herald, "About the only difference between slavery at Pullman and what it was down South before the war, is that there the owners took care of the slaves when they were sick and here they don't." The strikers not only wanted more money for their homes and families, they desired independence.Ĭarnegie Steel Works during the 'Battle of Homestead,' July 1892, from the Rivers of Steel Heritage Area, Pittsburgh Food and entertainment wasn't the only thing workers wanted or needed they were searching for an identity beyond that of an hourly wage earner. It was a bread-and-circus approach to a more complex problem. Carnegie provided money for civic buildings such as libraries as he cut wages. George Pullman felt that he was improving the lives of his workers by providing them with housing, shopping, and entertainment next to their workplace. The employers, of course, did not take the same stance. Thus, when wages were cut, employees felt as if they were being de-emphasized even further. Unions gave a voice to those without, and strikes became a way to assert an identity. Residents felt that the company had taken over every aspect of their life, and had taken their identity in the process. The Pullman town, which was meant to solve the labor problem, ended up exacerbating existing tensions. Workers were dehumanized by the emerging corporate complexes. The less seen and less heard one was, the less likely one was to get in trouble. Pullman residents lived in constant fear of their employer, worried that if they voiced any disparaging opinions about the town (an example of a modern utopia, according to many newspapers of the day), they would be reprimanded or, even worse, fired. Image of the town of Pullman from Richard Ely's "Pullman: A Social Study," Harper's New Monthly Magazine, February 1885Īt the Pullman factory, employees lived in the company town, much like slaves lived on the plantations where they worked. Workers labored for long hours under poor conditions, and were subject to the whims of their employers. At Pullman, a worker reportedly told the Chicago Herald that "the only difference between slavery at Pullman and what it was down South before the war is that there the owners took care of their slaves when they were sick and here they don't." The feeling among workers was that slavery had not ended, but had just changed. In a song about Homestead entitled "A Man Named Carnegie," workers at the Pennsylvania plant are referred to as chattel and slaves. These two conflicts brought to the surface the deeper issues at work in an age of industrial progress. Within recent public memory lay two major events that led to this unease-the Homestead strike of 1892 and the Pullman Railroad strike of 1894. At the same time, there was fear of unrest. The voice of the worker was strong, and each party was interested in gaining its favor. William Jennings Bryan spoke to this in his famous speech, asking that "you shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns." Bimetallism was touted as the solution as well as the cause of the nation's economic difficulties. In light of the recent depression, the voters of 1896 were concerned with keeping money in their pockets.
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