The Gilded Age | Workers Revolt! | 5

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Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers
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early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible
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app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. Imagine it's May
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1886 in Chicago.
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You're a carpenter.
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In a furniture shop. Honing this craft has been your
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pride and joy ever since you left Germany a decade ago.
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On days like this, the work brings you comfort. Just
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24 hours ago, a bomb exploded at a labor rally
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in Haymarket Square, killing a policeman, setting off a riot
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in the street. Now the whole city is in a panic.
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You turn to one of your apprentices, who is sanding
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down a table. Uh, you better go home now. People
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are crazed. It wouldn't be wise to be out late.
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But he's looking past you, his eyes widening. You turn
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as a pair of police officers push their way into
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the shop. The bigger of the two approaches you. Hello, officers.
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We're just closing out for the day. What can I
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do for you? Where were you last night? Last night,
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I was at home with my wife playing cards. His
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disbelief is plain to see. Uh-huh. We're rounding up suspects
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for the bombing. I see. Wait, you think I had
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something to do with the explosion? I was nowhere near Haymarket.
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The policeman ignores you and turns to his partner. Search
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the premises. And don't forget the office in the back. Officers,
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this must be some misunderstanding. I promise you there's nothing
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for you here. We'll see about that. We're looking into
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activities of known anarchists, foreigners, people planning conspiracies to destroy
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this city. Anarchists? Sure, I'm active in my union, but
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I'm no radical. You have evidence? I'd like to see
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your warrant. But the officer just looks at you with disdain.
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I've always said we couldn't trust you people. What, what
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are you, German, right? Anger is building deep in your chest.
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but you know you need to stay calm. Out of
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the corner of your eye, though, you see what a
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mess the young officer is making of the shop. Please
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watch it. Throwing your arms up in a gesture of peace,
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look him in the eyes. Sir, I know you lost
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men in your ranks last night. It's a terrible tragedy.
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This isn't what the protesting workers had in mind, but
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I'm telling you, I am just a carpenter. I'm not
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hiding any bombs in these cabinets. That's enough. You're under arrest. Arrest?
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For what?
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He ignores you again and marches you out onto the street.
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Your head is pounding with confusion. You've never felt like
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such a target in the city you thought was your home.
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From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American History Tellers.
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Our history, your story. In May 1886, a bomb exploded
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at a peaceful labor rally in Chicago's Haymarket Square, triggering
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violence that led to nearly a dozen deaths. Panic swept
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the city as police rounded up hundreds of immigrants, radicals,
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and labor activists they deemed suspicious. The carnage and chaos
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in Chicago dealt a devastating blow to the already vulnerable
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labor movement. The Gilded Age had brought great riches to
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the titans of industry. But workers continued to struggle to
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assert their rights against the power of big business. They
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toiled for hours on end in dangerous conditions, barely scraping
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out a living. In the 1890s, their conflicts with corporate
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and government power grew more explosive. From the heart of
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the steel industry in Pittsburgh to the nerve center of
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the national railroad grid in Chicago, labor conflicts sparked deadly battles.
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Popular fury spread from factories to farms. In the Midwest
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and Great Plains, Long-suffering farmers forged a radical new political
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movement to challenge big business and the banks. But the
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giants of capitalism responded with force, threatening to stifle popular protest.
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Across the country, Americans rallied to reclaim their power and
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demand justice. This is Episode 5, Workers' Revolt. During the
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Gilded Age, industrial workers knew the deck was stacked against them.
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They labored a dangerous job, 60 hours or more per week,
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for paltry wages that barely put food on the table.
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Some industries even demanded 14 or 15-hour shifts. The job
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market was unpredictable, and workers were constantly at risk of
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losing their positions to advances in technology with a flood
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of immigrants arriving on American shores. Workers responded by seeking
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strength in numbers and organizing unions to fight for basic rights.
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The Gilded Age gave rise to dozens of national organizations
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representing different crafts and trades. In the 1880s and 90s,
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more than 23,000 strikes erupted nationwide, involving 6.5 million workers.
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But unions faced daunting challenges. They confronted faceless corporations backed
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up by vast capital, high-priced lawyers, and government support. Time
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and again, federal and state governments came down on the
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side of big business. Corporations relied on friendly governors and
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mayors to help crush labor uprisings, whether through court injunctions
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or by deploying troops. In the 1880s, American workers mobilized
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around a common goal, an eight-hour workday. For decades, employees
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have been agitating for more time to spend with their
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families and pursue a life outside of work. They also
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hoped that by cutting hours, they could increase the value
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of their labor and boost their wages. So they rallied
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around the slogan, eight hours for work, eight hours for rest,
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and eight hours for what you will. Union leaders set
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a deadline of May 1st, 1886 for employers to implement
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the eight-hour day. But as the deadline approached and employers
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showed no signs of taking action, labor leaders upped the ante.
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They called for a national general strike on May 1st,
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the inaugural International Workers' Day, or May Day as it
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came to be known. Some 300,000 workers nationwide walked off
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the job to put pressure on employers and governments for
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an eight-hour day. The epicenter of the May Day strikes
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was Chicago, home to 80,000 members of the Knights of Labor,
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the biggest labor organization in the country. But several hundred
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anarchists were also gaining strength in the city. They joined
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the knights in the strikes and calls for an eight-hour workday,
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but their ultimate goal was far more ambitious. They dreamed
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of a revolution to overthrow capitalism. So when May 1st
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came and their employers still hadn't budged, workers and the
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anarchists took action. That day, some 80,000 workers in Chicago
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walked off the job and peacefully marched down Michigan Avenue.
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But tensions soon escalated. Two days later, strikers at a
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local plant attacked workers who crossed the picket line. Police
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opened fire on the demonstrators, killing four. Chicago workers were enraged.
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The following evening, as a light drizzle fell on Chicago's
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Haymarket Square, 3,000 people took to the streets in protest.
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But suddenly, someone threw a dynamite bomb into the crowd
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near a line of police, instantly killing an officer. Panicked
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police fired their guns into the crowd. Their shots killed
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seven other officers and at least four civilians. Several dozen
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more were injured. After the bombing, a wave of hysteria
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gripped the city. A local reporter described the mass panic
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as one of the strangest frenzies of fear that ever
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distracted a whole community. Police found no evidence about who
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was responsible, but they believed the bombing was part of
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an anarchist conspiracy. Employers, government officials, and the local press
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united in condemning radicals and demanding retribution. The Chicago Times
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called the perpetrators arch-counselors of riot, pillage, incendiarism, and murder.
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300 prominent business leaders pledged $ 100, 000 to support police efforts
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against anarchists. And then in the coming days, the mayor
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declared martial law and permitted police to enter dozens of
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homes and offices without search warrants. The police arrested hundreds
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of anarchist leaders, labor activists, and immigrants they considered suspicious.
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Eight anarchists were eventually put on trial, but none were
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directly involved in the bombing. Instead, authorities tried them as
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accessories to murder due to their inflammatory speeches. The judge
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was blatantly hostile toward the defendants, and the jury was
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made up of white-collar workers who declared their belief in
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the defendants' guilt even before the trial started. In the end,
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the judge sentenced five to death and three to prison.
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The Haymarket bombing tainted the entire Lakeland. movement. Americans increasingly
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equated labor activism with radicalism and violence. In the wake
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of the bombing, the Knights of Labor declined. The general
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public mistakenly believed they were inciting anarchy. And internal troubles
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had long dogged the organization, too. The Knights had envisioned
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one great brotherhood of workers— but they never managed to
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fully unite their diverse membership, and recruitment dwindled. Before long,
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skilled workers deserted the Knights and flocked to the American
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Federation of Labor, an association of several national unions. The
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AFL was led by Samuel Gompers, a 5'4 Jewish cigar
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maker who had immigrated to America from London at age 13.
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Whereas the Knights of Labor dreamed of a utopian future
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where laborers took control of corporations, the AFL was more measured.
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Gompers called his philosophy pure and simple. He wanted better wages, hours,
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and working conditions. These practical reforms were more appealing to
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skilled workers than the sweeping goals of the Knights. The
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AFL was also made up a smaller individual union specific
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to different trades, from carpenters to miners to shoe workers
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and cigar makers like Gompers. But the largest of all
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was the Iron and Steel Workers Union. It was centered
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in Pittsburgh, the centerpiece of American industrial progress. Across the country,
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strikes were pitting labor and management against each other. But
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few conflicts would be as dramatic as the looming battle
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in Homestead, Pennsylvania, where workers would rise up against America's
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most powerful steel producer. Andrew Carnegie's Homestead Works was situated
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a few miles east of Pittsburgh on the banks of
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the Monongahela River. It was one of 12 plants owned
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by Carnegie. Together, they produced a quarter of America's steel.
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In the late 1880s, Carnegie hired Henry K. Frick to
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manage the daily operations of Homestead. Frick had built an
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empire manufacturing coke, an essential fuel for steel production. He
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was as ruthless a businessman as Carnegie. But while Carnegie
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was charming, Frick was cold and hard-edged. Soon, Frick stepped
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up production demands. His relentless drive to cut costs and
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labor needs helped Holmstead's profits soar, but the furious pace
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of work only made conditions more dangerous for steelworkers. Workers
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grew fed up with the low wages and brutal conditions.
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Many of them joined the Amalgamated Association of Iron and
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Steel Workers, along with some 25,000 other Pittsburgh steel workers,
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to fight for better conditions. Carnegie had long voiced his
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support for unions, but Frick was a notorious enemy of
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organized labor. As Frick installed more sophisticated machinery and steelmaking
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techniques to improve efficiency, he replaced skilled members with unskilled,
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non-unionized workers. The union's strength steadily declined. Then, in the
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early 1890s, the price of steel plummeted. By then, Carnegie
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had stepped back from the daily business of running his
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steel empire. In May of 1892, Carnegie traveled to his
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castle in Scotland and left Frick in charge. When the
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amalgamated workers' contract with Homestead expired in June of that year,
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Frick decided to slash wages. Furious workers hung Frick in
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effigy from telegraph poles in town. But Frick refused to compromise.
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He knew he held the upper hand. he could always
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bring in non-unionized workers to break the strike. Soon he
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began building a 12-foot-high fence around Homestead, topped with barbed wire.
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It had slits for sharpshooters, and Frick mounted searchlights on
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towering platforms. Workers dubbed the barricade Fort Frick. To them,
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the message was clear. Frick had declared war. Imagine it's
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late June, 1892. You're a steelworker at Homestead Steelworks, and
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for weeks your union has been trying to stop management
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from cutting your wages. You and a fellow worker are
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approaching the barbed wire wood fence that now encircles the mill.
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You gaze up at the sniper towers and water cannons,
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shaking your head. I can't believe it's come to this.
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Doesn't Frick have anything better to do than build a
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giant fence? He's acting like we're an enemy army, not
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his own workers. Your coworker flashes you a wry smile. Well,
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for Frick, that's the same thing. You approach the main gate.
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only to discover that there's a massive metal chain barricading
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the door. Oh God, it's locked. He's locked us out!
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A guard toting a rifle spots you from behind a
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gap in the fence. Stand back. We've sealed off the plant.
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What?
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What happened to the negotiations? Our contract isn't up for
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another day. I don't know anything about contracts. I'm just
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ordering you to disperse. Unbelievable. Frank is breaking the contract.
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Workers arriving for the day shift are gathering behind you.
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You sense an anger rippling through the crowd as they
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realize what's happening. But your coworker looks more defeated than angry. Well,
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what are we going to do now? We realize Frick
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isn't going to just stop production. The lock means only
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one thing. He's bringing in scabs. Not if we stop him.
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How can we stop him? What could we possibly do?
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We'll gather arms. We'll get hundreds of our men to
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guard the plant so no one can get in. That's crazy.
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They'll get past us. Frick will call in every deputy
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sheriff within 10 miles. Not if we seal off the roads.
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You turn to the crowd, your mind bursting with ideas.
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All right, all right, everyone, come on.
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We're not going to let anyone in. If they won't
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let us in, no one gets in. We'll guard the waterfront,
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patrol the railroad depots. No scabs, no deputy, no one
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will get in there alive.
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Who's with me? As the crowd roars, you smile with
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grim satisfaction. For the first time in months, your rage
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over the wage cuts, over Frick's hard-nosed tactics, is turning
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to resolve. You're going to show him who really owns
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this town. On June 28, 1892, Frick closed down Homestead,
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locking out 3,800 workers and announcing his refusal to negotiate
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with the Union. In response, the Union members seized the town,
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blocking all roads into Homestead and patrolling the plant to
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ward off strikebreakers. Meanwhile, Frick hired new, non-unionized workers. To
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protect them from the wrath of the strikers, he contracted
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with a private security force, the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.
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Pinkerton agents were despised for their long history of breaking strikes,
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infiltrating unions, and intimidating workers. On the morning of July 6, 1892,
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300 armed Pinkerton agents floated on barges down the Monongahela River.
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Most were new recruits, and they were stunned by the
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fury they faced when they tried to come ashore. Workers
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armed with rifles and sticks rushed the pier, and an
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ugly battle began. For twelve hours, they traded gunfire with
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the Pinkertons from the dock. The workers tossed sticks of
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dynamite at the barges and pushed a flaming raft into
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the river. They torched a rail car filled with barrels
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of oil and rolled it down the tracks beside the pier.
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That evening, the Pinkertons raised a white flag in surrender,
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and the workers finally allowed them to come ashore. But
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the moment the Pinkertons set foot on the riverbank, the
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workers brutally beat them. Their wives and children joined in,
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hurling rocks at the agents. One Pinkerton described how sticks, stones,
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and dirt were thrown at us. The women pulled us down,
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spat in our faces, kicked us, and tore our clothing
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off while the crowd jeered and cheered. The Pinkertons managed
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to escape town on a night train. By then, half
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of the 300 agents were injured. Seven Pinkertons and nine
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workers lay dead. Four days later, the Pennsylvania governor ordered
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more than 8,000 militia to Homestead to protect new strikebreakers
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and keep the peace. Americans were horrified by the violence, though.
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Some sympathized with the union, though most thought the workers
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had gone too far. That summer, news of the conflict
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at Homestead reached a prominent New York anarchist named Alexander Berkman.
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He decided to take deadly action against Frick, hoping to
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inspire workers to overthrow capitalism. Berkman traveled to Pittsburgh and
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set up an appointment with Frick claiming to work for
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an employment agency that could help him hire strikebreakers. On
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July 23rd, Berkman burst into Frick's office. He shot Frick
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twice in the neck and stabbed him in the leg.
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The wounded Frick, though, managed to wrestle Berkman to the
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ground with the help of a colleague, and police soon
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arrested him. Frick survived the assassination attempt, and sensational news
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reports of the attack helped garner public sympathy for him.
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But the strike continued for months. Frick brought in new workers,
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many of them black men from the South. They were
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eager to land one of the few well-paid jobs available
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to them, but their arrival enraged white workers. Tensions culminated
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in a riot that fall, as white workers attacked black homes.
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Amid the violence, public support for the strikers continued to wane,
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and in November, the Amalgamated Association finally conceded defeat. Frick
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celebrated the victory, writing to Carnegie, we had to teach
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our employees a lesson, and we have taught them one
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that they will never forget. The battle at Homestead had
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00:18:46.119 --> 00:18:49.859
revealed the power of corporations to starve their employees into submission.
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But despite the steelworkers' defeat, their desperate fight galvanized workers
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across the country. In Chicago, 90,000 workers celebrated Homestead Day,
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sacrificing a day's wages each to raise $ 40, 000 in funds
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for the strikers. And the conflict inspired a popular labor anthem,
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Father Was Killed by the Pinkerton Men. But factory laborers
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00:19:11.269 --> 00:19:13.490
were not the only Americans who felt like the system
316
00:19:13.529 --> 00:19:16.819
was rigged against them. Farmers were building a radical new
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00:19:16.839 --> 00:19:19.880
grassroots movement too, and they were challenging the government that
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00:19:20.029 --> 00:19:23.109
upheld the power of capitalism where it mattered most, at
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the ballot box.
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00:19:28.869 --> 00:19:31.710
It started with a loophole. One man on a transatlantic
321
00:19:31.750 --> 00:19:34.569
flight read through a gambling law and found a crack
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just wide enough to build an empire. Within a few years,
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FanDuel and DraftKings were blanketing every screen in America with
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the promise that you could win real cash, legally, by
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picking the right players. Hey there, I'm David Brown, the
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host of the podcast Business Wars. Every season we bring
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you the true stories behind the companies that shape our world,
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their rivalries, their reinventions, and their spectacular rises and falls.
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In our new season, FanDuel and DraftKings didn't just compete
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with each other. They fought regulators, rewrote gambling laws, and
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helped turn a.
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Legal gray area.
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Into a $ 167 billion industry. It's the story of how
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sports betting took over America and what it's costing all
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of us. Make sure to follow Business Wars wherever you
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get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all episodes of
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Business Wars early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in
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the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.
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James Arthur Ray was a charismatic self-help guru. who promised
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his followers a path to wealth and enlightenment by becoming
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the best versions of themselves. But not all who followed
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him finished their journey. After Ray appeared on Oprah, thousands
343
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flocked to his events. But what many people didn't know
344
00:20:47.079 --> 00:20:51.119
about were his more extreme methods. Methods that push his
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followers to their limits, giving some the transformative experience they
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envisioned and killing others. For the best Bingeable series, like
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the one I just told you about, listen to the
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Audible True Crime podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Audible
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subscribers can get all episodes early and ad-free right now.
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Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on
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Even with a rapid growth in industry, the majority of
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Americans were still farmers in the late 19th century. Farmers
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00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:30.930
had long accepted the unpredictability of weather and the ebb
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00:21:30.970 --> 00:21:33.869
and flow of local markets. But during the Gilded Age,
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00:21:33.950 --> 00:21:36.650
their livelihoods came to depend on forces that seemed even
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00:21:36.769 --> 00:21:40.230
further from their reach. The expansion of industry and finance
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00:21:40.289 --> 00:21:43.450
brought sweeping changes to the nation's farms, fields, and pastures.
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Railroads created a national market for crops. Farmers now bought plows, harvesters,
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and fertilizers on credit, linking their fortunes with banks in
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00:21:52.680 --> 00:21:56.650
Chicago and New York. But innovation had a downside. Big
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00:21:56.690 --> 00:22:01.190
city banks charged exorbitant interest rates. New technology brought higher yields,
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causing crop prices to plummet. As farmers' incomes fell, they
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00:22:05.109 --> 00:22:07.829
struggled to pay back their loans and sank deeper into debt.
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Many defaulted and lost their land. Farmers felt crushed by
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the power of Wall Street. They believed the nation's economic
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structures served bankers and corporations at their expense. So to
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win real change, they realized they needed to enter politics.
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00:22:24.049 --> 00:22:26.630
But for a growing number of farmers, neither the Democrats
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nor the Republicans had the answer. They felt the times
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demanded more than what the two prominent political parties were offering.
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They wanted a radical reshaping of the American economic and
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political order. So in 1892, they placed their bets on
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the upcoming presidential election. That February, grassroots groups came together
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in St. Louis, Missouri, with the goal of creating a
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new national party, the Populist Party. Delegates included farmers, labor unionists,
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and reformers pushing everything from prohibition to women's suffrage. Farmer
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and activist Leonidas Polk issued a clarion call to action
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in his opening address to the convention. The time has
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come for the Great West, the Great South, and the
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00:23:04.529 --> 00:23:07.750
Great Northwest to link their hands and hearts together and
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00:23:07.849 --> 00:23:10.430
march to the ballot box and take possession of the government,
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restore it to the principles of our fathers, and run
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it in the interests of the people. In July, the
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newly formed Populist Party held their first official national convention
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in Omaha, Nebraska. They demanded government regulation of big business,
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government ownership of the railroad, telegraph, and telephone, and a
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graduated income tax to redistribute wealth to farmers and workers.
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They also called for an eight-hour workday, the direct election
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of U.S. senators, and a one-term limit on the presidency.
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Above all, the Populists fiercely rejected the gold standard, which
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they felt only served Eastern bankers and businessmen. They wanted
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more widely available silver-backed currency, believing it would help farmers
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and debtors pay back their loans. The party platform was
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a blistering plea for far-reaching change. It urged the people
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to seize control of government and fight the powers corrupting democracy, reading,
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the fruits of the toil of millions are boldly stolen
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to build up colossal fortunes for a few, while their
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00:24:06.690 --> 00:24:10.670
possessors despise the republic and endanger liberty. From the same
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prolific womb of government and justice we breed the two
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great classes— tramps, and millionaires. The populists nominated James B. Weaver,
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00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:22.160
a former Civil War general from Iowa, as their candidate
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for president. He would be running against Republican incumbent Benjamin
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00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:30.220
Harrison and the Democratic former president, Grover Cleveland. But Weaver's
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00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:33.230
influence in the populist's reach was limited to the Midwest
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and West. To make a real bid for the presidency,
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they needed strong support from the South. So populists tried
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00:24:39.980 --> 00:24:43.700
to build an interracial coalition of poor farmers, black and white,
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making the case that harsh laws and policies kept all
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races from making progress. But many poor white voters rejected
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the populists, and white Southern Democrats exploited racial hostility to
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court votes. In the end, racial prejudice won out over
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economic concerns. The populists lost out on a key endorsement
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from the largest regional organization of white Southern farmers— Instead,
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that group threw in their lot with the Democrats, who
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were devoting their energies to barring blacks from the ballot box.
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Without the South, the populist chances were doomed. When Election
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Day came, Democrat Grover Cleveland captured the presidency, for the
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second time. The populists had earned more than 8% of
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the popular vote and carried four Western states. It was
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a strong showing for a third party, but it fell
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far short of a majority. The party failed to attract
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not only the rural South, but urban workers in the Northeast.
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Though their bid for the presidency failed, the populists made
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gains that year at the local level. They elected three governors,
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five U.S. senators, and ten representatives. In total, nearly 1,500
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populist candidates won their races. The biggest populist stronghold was
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in Kansas, where the populists captured the governorship and the
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00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:55.789
state senate. But contested returns for the state House of
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Representatives sparked a bitter conflict. When the legislature convened in
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Topeka on January 10, 1893, Both the populists and the
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Republicans claimed the majority. The impasse dragged on for weeks. Finally,
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in mid-February, the populists armed themselves with guns, took control
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of the legislature by force, and locked the Republicans out.
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It looked like the election would only be resolved through violence.
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Imagine it's February, 1893. It's a bitterly cold morning in Topeka, Kansas.
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You woke early to the news that the populace had
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00:26:32.069 --> 00:26:35.170
taken control of the State House chamber under armed guard.
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00:26:35.950 --> 00:26:38.470
You're the Republican Speaker of the House. You intend to
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00:26:38.519 --> 00:26:41.200
stay that way. You and dozens of your colleagues have
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00:26:41.240 --> 00:26:43.339
gathered in the lobby of the legislature to plan your
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next move. All right, men, it's time we take back
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the chamber and proceed with the people's business. One of
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the new representatives, a rookie in politics, steps forward and
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feebly raises his hand. Mr. Douglas, I don't see why
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we have to do this. Surely this can be resolved
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00:27:01.180 --> 00:27:06.039
through the courts. No, we cannot afford to wait. Right now,
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00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:09.079
we're the laughingstock of Kansas. Every hour that goes by
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00:27:09.160 --> 00:27:12.349
just makes it worse. Besides, the populace have already taken
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00:27:12.410 --> 00:27:15.009
the governorship and the state senate. I'll be damned if
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I'm going to let them steal the house, too. Now,
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enough talk. Let's get in there. You start directing your forces. You, ma'am.
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You block the stairway so no one else can get up.
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The rest of you follow me. I'll work on the guard.
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You find a way to open that door. You reach
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the doors to the lower house. The populace have barricaded
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themselves inside, and a young, nervous-looking doorkeeper is standing guard. Sorry, gentlemen,
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00:27:39.869 --> 00:27:42.369
I can't let you in there. I'm afraid we're not asking.
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Just then, your colleague takes a sledgehammer to the door. Whoa, whoa, whoa,
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what are you doing? Taking back this government for the
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people of Kansas. I told you all to stand back.
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Stop that now or I'll be forced to shoot. The
463
00:27:56.329 --> 00:27:59.390
guard is stricken with terror. You almost feel bad for him.
464
00:28:00.049 --> 00:28:02.990
You step forward, your face just inches from his. Kid,
465
00:28:03.450 --> 00:28:06.049
we're about to take control of the government. Whose side
466
00:28:06.069 --> 00:28:07.559
do you want to be on once we're the ones
467
00:28:07.619 --> 00:28:11.180
in charge? A piece of the door falls to the floor.
468
00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:14.440
The guard's eyes widen and he lowers his rifle in defeat.
469
00:28:16.480 --> 00:28:19.200
With one last blow of a sledgehammer, the door is broken.
470
00:28:19.220 --> 00:28:23.619
You can see the populace crowded together inside. They start
471
00:28:23.660 --> 00:28:26.079
to rush towards you. but stop in their tracks once
472
00:28:26.099 --> 00:28:29.519
they see they're outnumbered. You turn to your colleagues. Gentlemen,
473
00:28:30.119 --> 00:28:36.009
our chamber. You smile, feeling that after a week's long standoff,
474
00:28:36.089 --> 00:28:39.069
victory is finally in sight. You hope you've delivered the
475
00:28:39.109 --> 00:28:48.069
final blow to this populist insurgency. On February 15, 1893,
476
00:28:48.069 --> 00:28:51.369
Republican Speaker of the House George L. Douglas marched Republican
477
00:28:51.410 --> 00:28:55.130
representatives to take back the Kansas State Legislature. They easily
478
00:28:55.190 --> 00:28:58.420
swept aside the guards. With a few swings of a sledgehammer,
479
00:28:58.640 --> 00:29:01.180
they broke down the house doors and streamed into the chamber.
480
00:29:01.740 --> 00:29:05.420
They drove the populace out, but tensions remained high. Both
481
00:29:05.480 --> 00:29:09.140
sides expected a shootout. Late that evening, the populace governor
482
00:29:09.200 --> 00:29:12.789
called out local militias, but their units were mostly entirely Republican,
483
00:29:13.069 --> 00:29:16.250
and they refused to obey orders. Forty-eight hours later, the
484
00:29:16.289 --> 00:29:19.710
governor negotiated a truce with Speaker Douglas. They agreed to
485
00:29:19.750 --> 00:29:22.960
let the state Supreme Court confirm the election results. A
486
00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:26.119
week later, the court ruled in favor of the Republicans 2-1.
487
00:29:27.119 --> 00:29:30.240
Despite their loss of the Kansas House majority, the populace
488
00:29:30.279 --> 00:29:33.789
continued to thrive, though, in several western states. Their ideas
489
00:29:33.809 --> 00:29:37.150
gained currency, too, on the national stage. And soon, a
490
00:29:37.210 --> 00:29:41.880
nationwide economic crisis would heighten farmer and worker discontent, widening
491
00:29:41.940 --> 00:29:49.180
the appeal of the populist agenda. When President Grover Cleveland
492
00:29:49.240 --> 00:29:52.660
was inaugurated in March 1893, the economy was on the
493
00:29:52.700 --> 00:29:56.579
brink of collapse. That spring, two of the country's largest employers,
494
00:29:56.779 --> 00:30:00.190
the Pennsylvania and Redding Railroad, and the National Cordage Company
495
00:30:00.369 --> 00:30:04.619
went under. Investors panicked and called in their loans. Within
496
00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:09.140
six months, 8,000 businesses and 360 banks closed their door.
497
00:30:09.740 --> 00:30:13.119
Within a year, one-fifth of the workplace was unemployed, and
498
00:30:13.160 --> 00:30:15.779
jobless men were wandering from town to town in search
499
00:30:15.799 --> 00:30:19.809
of work. The Panic of 1893 triggered a four-year depression,
500
00:30:20.130 --> 00:30:23.950
the worst of the 19th century. This economic upheaval would
501
00:30:24.009 --> 00:30:27.410
soon lead to an explosive labor conflict, centered just south
502
00:30:27.450 --> 00:30:31.589
of Chicago in Pullman, Illinois. Pullman was a model company
503
00:30:31.630 --> 00:30:34.849
town founded by the Pullman Palace Car Company, a major
504
00:30:34.869 --> 00:30:38.950
manufacturer of luxury railway cars. Workers there lived in neat
505
00:30:39.029 --> 00:30:42.349
brick houses with manicured lawns. They had gas connections and
506
00:30:42.390 --> 00:30:45.150
indoor plumbing, and the wide paved streets were lined with
507
00:30:45.250 --> 00:30:48.609
elm trees and maples. But all these amenities came with
508
00:30:48.670 --> 00:30:52.859
a trade-off. Pullman exercised near total control over its employees' lives.
509
00:30:53.380 --> 00:30:57.019
The company banned independent newspapers, public speeches, and town meetings.
510
00:30:57.440 --> 00:31:00.259
Public officials were not elected, but appointed by the company,
511
00:31:00.539 --> 00:31:04.569
and inspectors regularly barged into workers' homes. As one visiting
512
00:31:04.609 --> 00:31:09.230
journalist described it, in Pullman, the corporation is everything and everywhere.
513
00:31:10.170 --> 00:31:13.519
Employees resented the high rents, the town ban on liquor,
514
00:31:13.880 --> 00:31:17.779
and living under the constant surveillance of Pullman officials. For years,
515
00:31:17.859 --> 00:31:22.380
tensions simmered below Pullman's picture-perfect surface. Then, the Depression hit
516
00:31:22.420 --> 00:31:26.869
the Pullman Company hard, shattering its image. In late 1893,
517
00:31:26.869 --> 00:31:29.990
owner George Pullman laid off 3,000 men and women and
518
00:31:30.029 --> 00:31:33.890
cut wages by 25%. But he refused to reduce rents
519
00:31:34.049 --> 00:31:37.329
or utility bills in the company town. By spring, workers
520
00:31:37.349 --> 00:31:40.809
had had enough. In May 1894, they went on strike.
521
00:31:41.630 --> 00:31:45.279
Their uprising would draw in thousands of workers, paralyzing rail
522
00:31:45.319 --> 00:31:48.000
traffic all the way to California and sparking one of
523
00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:52.259
the most notorious labor conflicts in American history. Soon, railway
524
00:31:52.319 --> 00:31:54.599
workers would be locked in a fierce battle against the
525
00:31:54.720 --> 00:31:58.009
full might of the U.S. government. The federal authorities would
526
00:31:58.029 --> 00:32:02.369
take unprecedented action, forever changing the fate of organized labor.
527
00:32:07.369 --> 00:32:11.569
On January 1, 1892, a young Irish immigrant named Annie
528
00:32:11.609 --> 00:32:14.869
Moore became the first person processed at the new immigration
529
00:32:14.930 --> 00:32:18.069
station on Ellis Island. For the millions who followed her,
530
00:32:18.349 --> 00:32:20.589
this small island in New York Harbor would become the
531
00:32:20.630 --> 00:32:24.369
place where their American dream would either begin or end. Hi,
532
00:32:24.450 --> 00:32:27.410
I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of the podcast American History Tellers.
533
00:32:27.839 --> 00:32:30.279
We take you to the events, times, and people that
534
00:32:30.339 --> 00:32:34.220
shaped America and Americans, our values, our struggles, and our dreams.
535
00:32:34.650 --> 00:32:37.509
In our latest series, we trace the history of Ellis Island.
536
00:32:37.750 --> 00:32:40.369
For more than three decades, it served as the gateway
537
00:32:40.410 --> 00:32:43.519
through which millions of hopeful immigrants entered the United States.
538
00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:46.680
But as the nation struggled to decide who belonged, some
539
00:32:46.700 --> 00:32:49.619
would find the gates shut to them. Follow American History
540
00:32:49.660 --> 00:32:53.000
Tellers wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge
541
00:32:53.180 --> 00:32:56.720
all episodes of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now.
542
00:32:57.009 --> 00:32:59.589
Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on
543
00:32:59.650 --> 00:33:00.509
Apple Podcasts.
544
00:33:01.349 --> 00:33:03.980
You stepped out for your morning jog. Except it's not
545
00:33:04.029 --> 00:33:07.329
your usual morning jog. You started listening to an epic
546
00:33:07.410 --> 00:33:11.369
sci-fi book on Audible. Thirty chapters later, you've accidentally run
547
00:33:11.410 --> 00:33:14.109
a half marathon. You lost track of how far you've run,
548
00:33:14.230 --> 00:33:15.869
somewhere just past the city limits.
549
00:33:16.210 --> 00:33:16.829
You can't stop.
550
00:33:17.049 --> 00:33:18.559
You have to find out what happens next.
551
00:33:19.859 --> 00:33:20.440
Then it's over.
552
00:33:21.099 --> 00:33:25.839
The universe seems bigger. You feel different. You feel like
553
00:33:25.859 --> 00:33:30.480
you have no idea where you are. Audible. Stories that
554
00:33:30.559 --> 00:33:31.039
speak to you.
555
00:33:37.589 --> 00:33:41.589
On May 11, 1894, amid falling wages, workers at the
556
00:33:41.630 --> 00:33:44.390
Pullman Palace Car Company laid down their tools in order
557
00:33:44.430 --> 00:33:46.849
to stand up to the power of their employer. But
558
00:33:46.869 --> 00:33:49.769
they knew they needed more leverage. To increase the pressure
559
00:33:49.809 --> 00:33:52.109
on Pullman, the strikers hoped to enlist the help of
560
00:33:52.150 --> 00:33:55.829
the American Railway Union, or ARU, and its charismatic leader,
561
00:33:56.150 --> 00:34:00.430
Eugene Debs. Born in Indiana to German immigrant parents, Debs
562
00:34:00.509 --> 00:34:03.329
left school at age 14 and found a job scraping
563
00:34:03.410 --> 00:34:05.910
paint and grease off trains for 50 cents a day.
564
00:34:06.630 --> 00:34:09.409
As an adult, he became a passionate and magnetic speaker,
565
00:34:09.630 --> 00:34:11.670
and he quickly rose through the ranks of his local
566
00:34:11.730 --> 00:34:16.170
railroad union. In 1893, Debs founded the ARU to bring
567
00:34:16.230 --> 00:34:19.929
together separate unions for train engineers, conductors, and firemen into
568
00:34:19.949 --> 00:34:25.380
a single organization. It soon boasted 150,000 members. The Pullman
569
00:34:25.420 --> 00:34:27.360
workers had been on strike for a month when the
570
00:34:27.440 --> 00:34:31.280
ARU held its first official national convention in Chicago. On
571
00:34:31.340 --> 00:34:34.780
June 12th, Debs captivated the 400 delegates with a stirring
572
00:34:34.840 --> 00:34:37.909
call to action, urging... The forces of labor must unite.
573
00:34:38.630 --> 00:34:41.030
Only when working men enjoyed the fruits of their labor,
574
00:34:41.070 --> 00:34:44.610
he argued, would the country be truly free. At the convention,
575
00:34:44.659 --> 00:34:47.699
the Pullman strike was the main topic of discussion. The
576
00:34:47.800 --> 00:34:50.480
ARU delegates debated whether to take the strike to the
577
00:34:50.539 --> 00:34:53.760
next level by launching a national boycott of Pullman cars.
578
00:34:54.360 --> 00:34:57.179
But Debs was hesitant. He knew that federal courts would
579
00:34:57.219 --> 00:34:59.289
not be on their side and that the company would
580
00:34:59.309 --> 00:35:01.949
have an easy time finding strikebreakers in a time of
581
00:35:02.030 --> 00:35:06.320
soaring unemployment. But Pullman workers attended the convention too, and
582
00:35:06.340 --> 00:35:09.130
they were determined to convince the ARU to join their fight.
583
00:35:13.829 --> 00:35:17.150
Imagine it's June 1894, and you're at the first national
584
00:35:17.190 --> 00:35:21.010
convention of the American Railway Union in Chicago. Before you
585
00:35:21.050 --> 00:35:23.130
went on strike, it was your job to sew the
586
00:35:23.170 --> 00:35:27.469
luxurious curtains, carpeting, and upholstery for Pullman sleeper cars. You're
587
00:35:27.489 --> 00:35:29.789
here in Chicago on a mission to give a voice
588
00:35:29.849 --> 00:35:32.650
to the other girls you work alongside and build support
589
00:35:32.690 --> 00:35:35.500
for your strike. You spot an older man sitting at
590
00:35:35.539 --> 00:35:38.340
a table by himself. You saw him speaking with some
591
00:35:38.380 --> 00:35:41.079
of the ARU leaders earlier, so you figure he might
592
00:35:41.119 --> 00:35:44.239
be important. Your heart is beating in your chest as
593
00:35:44.260 --> 00:35:47.579
you walk over to approach him. Hello, sir. Is this
594
00:35:47.619 --> 00:35:51.559
seat taken? No, no. Have a seat in this. He
595
00:35:51.619 --> 00:35:53.920
sizes you up, and you can feel your cheeks grow red.
596
00:35:54.340 --> 00:35:57.280
But you push past your fear. Sir, I suppose you've
597
00:35:57.300 --> 00:35:59.829
heard all about what's happening in Pullman. Yes, of course.
598
00:35:59.969 --> 00:36:02.530
The greed of George Pullman, not lowering those rents just
599
00:36:02.590 --> 00:36:05.590
as he cuts wages. You feel your spirits lift. So
600
00:36:05.630 --> 00:36:08.349
then you support the boycott of Pullman cars? Well, I
601
00:36:08.389 --> 00:36:11.070
don't know about that. The workers are right to strike,
602
00:36:11.110 --> 00:36:13.710
of course, but the ARU is still brand new. It
603
00:36:13.750 --> 00:36:17.650
seems risky to me. Your smile falters. Maybe this won't
604
00:36:17.690 --> 00:36:19.789
be so easy after all. But isn't that what a
605
00:36:19.889 --> 00:36:23.530
union is all about? Facing risk together? I'm asking you
606
00:36:23.570 --> 00:36:26.110
to join us Pullman workers. The other girls and I
607
00:36:26.150 --> 00:36:28.590
have seen our wages cut again and again. We're not
608
00:36:28.630 --> 00:36:31.760
just fighting for ourselves. We're fighting for workers everywhere. It's
609
00:36:31.820 --> 00:36:34.659
just a bad time to go on a strike. The
610
00:36:34.719 --> 00:36:40.940
railroads will have an easy time finding scaps. The delegate
611
00:36:40.980 --> 00:36:44.039
stands and begins gathering his things. I'm sorry, miss. I
612
00:36:44.059 --> 00:36:46.559
have a meeting to get to. You're running out of time.
613
00:36:47.199 --> 00:36:49.619
If you can just make him understand what's at stake. Sir,
614
00:36:49.900 --> 00:36:52.139
do you have any children? Why, yes, I have a daughter.
615
00:36:52.699 --> 00:36:56.179
She's probably about your age. Sir, after my father died,
616
00:36:56.690 --> 00:36:58.670
I had to take on responsibility for all the back
617
00:36:58.730 --> 00:37:01.550
rent he owed the company. Every paycheck, I put all
618
00:37:01.590 --> 00:37:04.579
my wages, all nine or ten dollars... and to rent
619
00:37:04.639 --> 00:37:07.119
on the company house. But it was still not enough.
620
00:37:07.920 --> 00:37:11.639
He frowns. I'm sorry to hear about your father. Thank you. But,
621
00:37:11.940 --> 00:37:15.030
you see, joining this union has given me hope when
622
00:37:15.050 --> 00:37:17.670
I felt that all was lost. That hope led me
623
00:37:17.730 --> 00:37:20.869
here today. So please, don't turn your back on us.
624
00:37:21.809 --> 00:37:24.190
If you're not mistaken, you think you see a glimmer
625
00:37:24.210 --> 00:37:27.469
in the man's eyes. I really must go, Miss Curtis.
626
00:37:27.929 --> 00:37:30.769
Miss Curtis. But I'm going to think about what you said.
627
00:37:32.349 --> 00:37:34.590
You watch them walk away, just hoping you've done your
628
00:37:34.650 --> 00:37:37.429
small part to help the girls back in Pullman, to
629
00:37:37.449 --> 00:37:46.480
help workers everywhere. At the ARU convention, 19-year-old Pullman worker
630
00:37:46.559 --> 00:37:49.860
Jenny Curtis delivered a passionate speech imploring the delegates to
631
00:37:49.920 --> 00:37:52.980
support the strike. She called Pullman, both the man and
632
00:37:53.000 --> 00:37:56.659
the town, an ulcer on the body politic. She cried out,
633
00:37:57.019 --> 00:37:59.900
The dance of skeletons bathed in human tears goes on,
634
00:38:00.300 --> 00:38:03.119
and it will go on, brothers, forever. Unless you, the
635
00:38:03.179 --> 00:38:06.469
American Railway Union, stop it, end it, crush it out.
636
00:38:07.280 --> 00:38:11.530
Curtis's words captivated the convention. The delegates became convinced they
637
00:38:11.570 --> 00:38:14.969
needed to take action. On June 21st, the ARU voted
638
00:38:15.010 --> 00:38:17.869
to back the strike. They agreed to refuse to handle
639
00:38:17.929 --> 00:38:22.070
trains carrying Pullman cars. The backing of the ARU was critical.
640
00:38:22.630 --> 00:38:27.210
Within days, roughly 125,000 rail workers joined the boycott, which
641
00:38:27.289 --> 00:38:31.199
soon spread to 27 states and territories. Rail traffic from
642
00:38:31.360 --> 00:38:35.239
Ohio to California ground to a halt. This strike, then,
643
00:38:35.340 --> 00:38:37.599
was more than just a challenge to the Pullman Company.
644
00:38:38.139 --> 00:38:42.420
The nation's largest industry was under threat, and with shipping paralyzed,
645
00:38:42.619 --> 00:38:46.579
cities faced food and fuel shortages. The U.S. government prepared
646
00:38:46.599 --> 00:38:48.920
to intervene, and it was firmly on the side of
647
00:38:48.960 --> 00:38:53.860
the railroads. Richard Olney was President Cleveland's Attorney General. But
648
00:38:53.900 --> 00:38:56.579
before he ran the Justice Department, Olney had made his
649
00:38:56.639 --> 00:39:00.059
fortune as a lawyer for railroad companies. The focal point
650
00:39:00.079 --> 00:39:03.949
of the conflict was Chicago, America's largest railroad hub. As
651
00:39:03.989 --> 00:39:07.349
the strike there advanced, Olney emerged as a powerful ally
652
00:39:07.409 --> 00:39:10.869
to the rail executives. On July 2nd, Olney got a
653
00:39:10.929 --> 00:39:14.409
federal judge in Chicago to issue a blanket injunction declaring
654
00:39:14.449 --> 00:39:17.989
the ARU boycott illegal. This legal move meant that the
655
00:39:18.050 --> 00:39:22.070
strikers were now breaking federal law. Olney authorized the railroads
656
00:39:22.110 --> 00:39:25.079
to hire and arm thousands of men to confront the strikers.
657
00:39:25.539 --> 00:39:28.659
The majority were ex-convicts and drunks. and Olney made them
658
00:39:28.800 --> 00:39:31.800
agents of the federal government. But he feared it wouldn't
659
00:39:31.820 --> 00:39:34.860
be enough, and so he urged President Cleveland to dispatch
660
00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:37.750
federal troops to Chicago on the grounds that the strikers
661
00:39:37.789 --> 00:39:40.989
were threatening the delivery of mail. This was in spite
662
00:39:41.030 --> 00:39:43.769
of the fact that the strikers had carefully avoided halting
663
00:39:43.809 --> 00:39:48.010
mail traffic. President Cleveland agreed, declaring... If it takes the
664
00:39:48.070 --> 00:39:51.050
entire Army and Navy to deliver a postcard in Chicago,
665
00:39:51.489 --> 00:40:00.099
that card will be delivered. ARU leader Eugene Debs urged nonviolence,
666
00:40:00.360 --> 00:40:03.940
but major newspapers branded him a mad dictator bent on anarchy.
667
00:40:04.539 --> 00:40:06.760
The New York Times called him an enemy of the
668
00:40:06.800 --> 00:40:09.949
human race. But Debs warned that it was the arrival
669
00:40:09.989 --> 00:40:13.210
of federal troops that would trigger bloodshed, saying, The first
670
00:40:13.250 --> 00:40:15.710
shot fired by the regular soldiers at the mobs here
671
00:40:16.090 --> 00:40:19.489
will be the signal for a civil war. Despite his prediction,
672
00:40:19.869 --> 00:40:22.510
on the 4th of July, the U.S. Army marched on Chicago.
673
00:40:23.050 --> 00:40:25.489
The troops joined police and state militia to create a
674
00:40:25.510 --> 00:40:30.219
combined military force of 14,000 men. The Army's arrival did
675
00:40:30.389 --> 00:40:33.480
add fuel to the flame. The conflict spiraled out of control,
676
00:40:33.860 --> 00:40:36.320
and the ARU and DEBs were unable to rein in
677
00:40:36.340 --> 00:40:39.699
the violence. Mobs of men, few of whom were strikers
678
00:40:39.840 --> 00:40:43.599
or railroad workers, filled the streets. They tipped over railcars,
679
00:40:43.659 --> 00:40:47.059
threw bricks at windows, and set buildings ablaze. The troops
680
00:40:47.119 --> 00:40:51.340
responded with bayonets and gunfire. On July 7th, soldiers fired
681
00:40:51.360 --> 00:40:55.510
into the crowds, killing four protesters. President Cleveland announced that
682
00:40:55.610 --> 00:40:59.090
all rioters would be declared public enemies. After six days
683
00:40:59.130 --> 00:41:02.050
of rioting and violent clashes, the troops crushed the strike.
684
00:41:02.670 --> 00:41:05.829
Thirteen protesters were killed and more than 50 were wounded.
685
00:41:06.769 --> 00:41:09.590
Eugene Debs was soon sentenced to six months in prison
686
00:41:09.630 --> 00:41:12.949
for defying the federal injunction against the strike. Support for
687
00:41:12.969 --> 00:41:16.789
the boycott collapsed. and the railroads blacklisted thousands of workers
688
00:41:16.829 --> 00:41:20.630
for participating. That summer in Chicago was the first time
689
00:41:20.690 --> 00:41:23.489
the federal government had used an injunction to break a strike.
690
00:41:24.110 --> 00:41:27.789
The move effectively made striking illegal, denying workers one of
691
00:41:27.829 --> 00:41:30.710
the most powerful weapons in their arsenal. Over the next
692
00:41:30.769 --> 00:41:34.050
few years, the courts would apply similar injunctions to quash strikes.
693
00:41:34.719 --> 00:41:37.860
Other court decisions outlawed limits on work hours and gutted
694
00:41:37.880 --> 00:41:42.059
the government's power to regulate monopolies. America's workers were enraged
695
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to see that time and time again, the power of
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the state came down on the side of big business
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to brutal ends. Still, working people's daring fight for decent
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wages and better conditions would have a lasting legacy. After
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he was jailed, Eugene Debs affirmed, no strike has ever
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been lost. For Debs, defeats were only temporary. What really
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mattered was that workers were joining together and asserting their power.
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In the 20th century, the labor movement would gain new momentum,
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and one day basic worker protections would be enshrined in law.
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00:42:14.250 --> 00:42:17.429
But in the 1890s, labor unrest was not the only
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00:42:17.489 --> 00:42:21.769
trouble confronting President Cleveland. A depression was ravaging the economy
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00:42:22.070 --> 00:42:25.860
and sparking fierce political turmoil. The government gold reserves had
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dropped to dangerously low levels. Millions of Americans were out
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00:42:29.179 --> 00:42:32.840
of work. And across the country, armies of unemployed workers
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00:42:32.980 --> 00:42:40.460
started to march on Washington. Next on American History Tellers,
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00:42:40.800 --> 00:42:43.900
the panic of 1893 sparked a bitter debate over the
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00:42:43.960 --> 00:42:47.599
gold standard, and President Cleveland turns to Finance King J.P.
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00:42:47.659 --> 00:42:51.840
Morgan for help. And in the emotionally charged election of 1896,
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00:42:51.840 --> 00:42:55.579
populist discontent finds a new standard-bearer in the reformer William
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00:42:55.659 --> 00:42:59.119
Jennings Bryan. From Wondery, this is Episode 5 of The
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00:42:59.159 --> 00:43:11.280
Gilded Age for American History Tellers. American History Tellers is hosted, edited,
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00:43:11.380 --> 00:43:14.570
and produced by me, Lindsey Graham, for Airship. Audio editing
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00:43:14.590 --> 00:43:17.849
by Molly Bach. Sound design by Derek Behrens. This episode
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00:43:17.889 --> 00:43:20.929
is written by Ellie Stanton, edited by Dorian Marina. Our
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00:43:20.969 --> 00:43:24.550
executive producers are Jenny Lauer Beckman and Marshall Louis, created
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00:43:24.710 --> 00:43:34.179
by Hernán López for Wondery. American History Tellers is only
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00:43:34.260 --> 00:43:37.570
possible because of listeners like you. So thank you. And
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00:43:37.619 --> 00:43:40.590
don't miss an episode. Be sure to follow American History
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00:43:40.610 --> 00:43:44.030
Tellers on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts. Audible
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00:43:44.090 --> 00:43:47.469
subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers early
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00:43:47.590 --> 00:43:50.690
and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app
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00:43:50.809 --> 00:43:53.789
or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. And to find out
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00:43:53.829 --> 00:43:57.190
more about me, including my other podcasts, my live show,
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00:43:57.449 --> 00:44:00.230
the history tours I'm arranging, and all sorts of other things,
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00:44:00.610 --> 00:44:05.519
go to historyishuman.com. That's historyishuman.com.