Pullman strike of 1894

What caused Grover Cleveland to get mad about the first strike ?

after debs speech in blue island when the strikers derailed a locomotive it ended up being a US mail car and he was enraged that it had stopped the federal government from exercising its most important responsibility

By early July what had the federal government already done before Altgeld sent companies to control the violence ?

attorney general richard olney demanded that federal troops be sent to Chicago to control the "reign of terror" and on July 2 he obtained an injunction from circuit court judges Peter Grosscup and William A Woods ( both were strong anti union sentiments ), this injuction prohibited ARU leaders from "compelling or inducing" any employees of the affected railroads "to refuse or fail to perform their duties ", it also prevented ARU leaders from communicating with their inferiors

when did the pullman company reopen ?

august 2, and it agreed to rehire the striking workers on the condition that they sign a pledge never to join a union

What effect did the strike have on labors and unions in general ?

congress supported Clevelands use of troops and the mainstream press, in Chicago and elsewhere, but turned against debs, the union and labour in general

what also happened on July 7 at the height of the violence ( when the national guardsman shot into the crowd ) regarding arrests etc?

federal officers arrested debs and four other ARU leaders for contempt of court (violating the injunction) and for criminal conspiracy to interfere with US mail, but were soon released on 10,000 bail, but in December of 1894 debs and his codefendants were tried before judge woods (one who passed injunction) and were found contempt and sentenced them to 3 to 6 months in prison

How did altgeld react to the president sending troops to Chicago? (remember he was the governor of Illinois) ?

he was outraged and wired the president and told him that there must have been miscommunication because if he knew what was really happening he wouldn't have sent troops, even though the state militia seemed quite capable of handling the situation

What did Debs not expect from the workers during this boycott?

he was pleased with the results of his plan but surprised by the anger in the workers and was scared they would get violent, he sent 4000 telegrams in the first week of the boycott urging ARU locals to stay calm and not to overreact

What were some results of the workers wages being cut ?

many families faced starvation, poor living conditions

What action did Illinois governor John Peter Altgeld take in fear that the strikers would get out of control?

sent six companies of militia to Danville in July, and another 3 to Decatur with orders to quell any rioting and clear the way for the trains

How did the pullman strike occur?

the pullman palace car company, a manufacturer of railroad cars cut the workers wages by about 25 % but did not introduce corresponding reductions in rents and other charges at pullman, when workers came to the owner, George M. Pullman, he refused to meet with them and demanded them to be fired, so the delegation voted to strike and the workers walked out of work on may 11, 1894

What had the sheer size and ferocity of the disturbances and strikes done to the sympathizers of the pullman strikers ?

they lost sympathy for them, and it inspired anxiety among many people

what was the general managers association ( the federation of railroads that had overseen the response to the strike ) do in response to debs trying to get the strikers to be rehired without prejudice?

they refused and instead began hiring non union workers

Did Eugene V. Debs scenario work ?

yes on June 27 5,000 workers left their jobs and 15 railroads were tied up, and by the next day 40,000 had walked off and rail traffic was snarled on all lines west of Chicago and on third day there were 100,000 workers who had walked off and atlas 20 railroads that were either tied up or completely stopped and then by June 30 125,000 workers on 29 lines had quit

Since the ARU represented 35% of the boycotters but at the same time didn't because they were on strike so not working, what did they decide to do to support these workers?

on June 22 the ARU delegates passed a motion to initiate a boycott unless the pullman company agreed to submit the dispute to arbitration by June 26

Since the injection made the boycott and strikes a federal issue what did president Cleveland do ?

He sent troops to Chicago on July 3

While in prison what change happened with Debs (leader of the ARU) ?

began his journey from labour activism to socialism

what happened on July 7 after the rioters destroyed hundreds of railcars in the south Chicago panhandle yards ?

by this time there were thousands of federal and state troops, police and deputy marshals in the city, and they could not contain the violence, on July 7 a national guardsman had been assaulted and in return fired into the mob of people killing between 4 and 30 people and wounding many others

What happened on June 29 after Debs speech in blue island, Illinois ?

debs spoke here to try an gather support from fellow railroad workers, but after he left groups within the crowd became enraged and set fire to nearby buildings and derailed a locomotive

What did Debs do in response to the incident on July 7? ( national guardsman opened fire in the crowd ) ?

debs then tried to call off the strike, urging that all workers except those convicted of crimes be rehired without prejudice

What happened when the troops arrived in Chicago ? (regarding debs and the strikers and boycotters)

debs thought at first it was better that the troops were there because they would keep the peace , but soon he realized that they were there to make the trains run, so the strikers were outraged at the presence of them, on July 4 they ( meaning strikers) and their sympathizers overturned railcars and erected barricades to prevent troops from reaching the yards (yet ARU leaders could do nothing because of the injunction) and on July 6 some 6000 rioters destroyed hundreds of railcars in south Chicago panhandle yards

What did the injection onleys propose cause to happen regarding Debs and communication?

since ARU leaders were prohibited from speaking to their subordinates, Debs could no longer send telegrams to tell members of the ARU to not be violent

What did the ARU president, Eugene V. Debs predict would happen if switchmen stopped hitching the pullman cars to trains at stations?

since a lot of the ARU w=consisted of switchmen, they believed that once they refuse to add or remove pullman cars from trains the railroads would fire them and in turn hire employers who were not part of a union, and this would cause union members to then quit in solidarity ( anger), thus bringing more and more trans to a halt

35 % of pullman employees were represented by what group?

the ARU or American railway union