Pullman Strike Word Search

ARU – American Railway Union, founded by Eugene Debs in 1893, organized railway workers across different crafts and led the boycott supporting Pullman workers during the 1894 strike.

ARMY – Federal troops deployed by President Cleveland to break the Pullman Strike, enforcing court injunctions and protecting mail trains despite protests from Illinois Governor Altgeld against federal intervention.

BOYCOTT – ARU members refused to handle Pullman cars on any train, paralyzing rail traffic across twenty-seven states and creating a nationwide transportation crisis that threatened commerce and mail delivery.

CARS – Pullman Palace Car Company manufactured luxury sleeping and dining cars for railroads. Workers who built these cars lived in the company town and faced wage cuts.

CHICAGO – The strike’s epicenter, where Pullman’s factory and model town were located. Railway traffic through this major hub was severely disrupted, prompting federal intervention and violent confrontations.

CLEVELAND – President Grover Cleveland ordered federal troops to Chicago over Governor Altgeld’s objections, citing mail obstruction. His intervention broke the strike and established federal precedent in labor disputes.

COACH – Type of passenger railway car manufactured by Pullman workers. These vehicles, along with sleeping cars, were central to the company’s business and the boycott’s economic impact.

COMPANY – Pullman Palace Car Company, founded by George Pullman, controlled workers’ lives through its model town, cutting wages while maintaining high rents, sparking the 1894 strike.

COURT – Federal courts issued injunctions against the strike under the Sherman Antitrust Act, making the boycott illegal. Violating these orders led to Eugene Debs’s imprisonment for contempt.

DEBS – Eugene V. Debs led the American Railway Union during the strike. His imprisonment afterward transformed him into a socialist, running for president five times championing workers’ rights.

FEDERAL – The national government intervened forcefully,
sending troops and obtaining injunctions. This established federal authority to intervene in labor disputes affecting interstate commerce and mail delivery systems.

FIRED – Pullman Company dismissed workers who joined union committees to protest wage cuts, triggering the initial walkout that escalated into the massive nationwide railway boycott and strike.

JAIL – Eugene Debs was sentenced to six months imprisonment for contempt of court after violating federal injunctions. His incarceration became a rallying point for the labor movement nationwide.

LABOR – The strike represented organized workers’ struggle for fair wages and treatment. It highlighted conflicts between industrial capitalism and workers’ rights, influencing future American labor movements significantly.

MAIL – Disruption of U.S. mail delivery provided the legal justification for federal intervention. Railroad companies attached mail cars to Pullman cars, making the boycott seem like mail obstruction.

PROTEST – Workers demonstrated against wage cuts, high rents, and poor conditions in Pullman’s company town. Protests escalated into riots when federal troops arrived, resulting in deaths and injuries.

PULLMAN – George Pullman created a model company town near Chicago, controlling housing, stores, and services. His paternalistic approach and wage cuts without rent reductions sparked worker rebellion.

RAILS – Railroad tracks and the railway industry were paralyzed during the boycott. Twenty-seven states experienced disrupted service, affecting commerce, mail, and passenger travel across America’s transportation network.

RENT – Pullman charged workers high rents in his company town while cutting wages during economic depression. This exploitation without corresponding rent reduction triggered the walkout and strike.

RIOT – Violent clashes erupted when federal troops arrived in Chicago. Strikers and sympathizers fought soldiers, resulting in property damage, deaths, and injuries that intensified public attention nationwide.

SLEEPING – Pullman’s luxury sleeping cars were the company’s signature product. The boycott of these cars crippled long-distance rail travel and demonstrated organized labor’s potential economic power effectively.

STRIKE – Workers walked out in May 1894 after wage cuts and firings. The ARU boycott expanded it nationwide, becoming one of America’s most significant labor confrontations and tests.

TROOPS – Federal soldiers sent to Chicago broke the strike through force, protecting trains and suppressing protests. Their deployment set precedent for government intervention favoring business over labor rights.

UNION – The American Railway Union united railway workers across different jobs, demonstrating industrial unionism’s power. Though defeated, it influenced future labor organization strategies and solidarity movements throughout America.