Pullman Strike and Boycott of 1894 The Illinois National Guard lined up in front of the Arcade building during the strike of 1894. (CHS ICHi-21195) In the wake of the 1886 Haymarket Affair and the violent strike of 1877, public sentiment was quick to turn against labor. President Cleveland sent federal troops to Chicago on July 4 to protect the Pullman factory. Although Debs advocated that the strikers refrain from violence, various riots occurred between July 5 and 7. Although it is unclear who initiated these riots, these events resulted in hundreds of burned (non-Pullman) railroad cars, several wounded soldiers and civilians, and six dead rioters. By July 10, federal troops broke the railroad blockade and trains began moving. Shortly thereafter, Debs was arrested for contempt and sentenced to six months in jail. The strike officially ended on July 12, 1894. Burned railroad cars between Burnside Crossing at 101st Street on July 15, 1894. (CHS G1988.0426 Box 2) Another view of cars burned on the side tracks between Burnside crossing and 104th Street on July 15, 1894. (CHS) Although the strike collapsed, George Pullman's model for handling the "labor problem" had failed. Pullman had prided himself on his paternalistic approach with his workers, and he could not see how his heavy-handed methods had resulted in this worker rebellion. Criticized and scorned, Pullman died a bitter man in 1897. To prevent his body from being stolen or desecrated by angry employees, Pullman had made special provisions for his burial in Chicago's Graceland Cemetery. His casket consists of a lead-lined box covered in one inch of asphalt, and rests in an eight-foot-deep concrete-filled pit. Eight steel rails rest above the casket and a final layer of concrete was poured on top. At the request of Pullman's wife, Pullman architect Solon Beman designed the gravestone.

	Previous		More

Al Capone - Chicago Black Sox - A Century of Progress - Chicago Fire
The World's Columbian Exposition - Parades, Protests and Politics
The Pullman Era - The Stockyards
Fort Dearborn (Coming Soon!)

Back to the Chicago Historical Society Home Page Copyright © 1999 by the Chicago Historical Society