Chicago, Illinois
Pullman sleeping cars were what made overnight rail travel comfortable and practical. With Chicago’s location as the central rail hub for the United States, it only made sense that George Pullman would open a factory that created these mobile palaces that served the country in Chicago. George Pullman created an entire town for workers and their families. The city of Pullman (now a community area on Chicago’s South Side) had around 8,000 people tied in directly or indirectly with the Pullman Company and the construction of the sleeping cars that were taking people on travel throughout the United States. The factory and town thrived for several years until the Panic of 1893, an economic depression hit the United States.
Because of the Panic, railroads ceased purchasing Pullman cars. To respond to the lack of business, the Pullman Company reduced wages for most workers. This reduction was difficult as workers could not afford basic necessities. They continued to pay rent to the Pullman company, which owned all housing in the town of Pullman. Workers began striking on May 11, 1894, desperate because of their deteriorating situation.
The strike effectively shut down most freight and passenger rail traffic in the western United States. African American workers were hired by the railroads to break the strike. African Americans working for the railroads was not a new concept; the Pullman Company had hired primarily formerly enslaved people in the 1860s to serve as the first Porters or sleeping car attendants. The African Americans feared they had no other choice for employment, as they rightfully concluded that corporations would collude to keep them from other job opportunities. Therefore, African Americans broke ranks to help maintain the employment of the porters. With the addition of racial tensions, the strike became violent. In Chicago, over thirty people died, and over $80 million of property was damaged. President Grover Cleveland ordered the U.S. Army to mobilize on July 3, 1894, to end the strike under the auspices to help deliver the mail. The involvement of the military met with some violent resistance nationwide and negative kickbacks from some state governments, but the strike ended over the next few weeks.
The end of the strike caused several lasting changes in the United States. Americans, in general, were upset with the Cleveland administration’s policies in causing and handling the Panic and with its leadership of the Democratic Party. Starting in the election of 1896, only one Democrat, Woodrow Wilson, was elected President until the Great Depression. A Presidential Commission after the strike showed that the running of the town of Pullman was “un-American.” While the town was aesthetically pleasing and the residents were healthier than any other town in the United States, the commission found that the pay cuts mixed with high rents and lack of social opportunities meant the town was unsustainable. The Pullman Company was forced to sell off parts of the town by the Illinois Supreme Court, and the town was annexed by the City of Chicago. George Pullman passed away from a heart attack in 1897.
The leader of the strike, Eugene V. Debs, founded the Socialist Party of America and ran for President in five straight elections. Debs decided to leave the Democratic Party in 1896 because he felt that the future of socialist ideas would best be found outside the party. Debs’s lawyer, Clarence Darrow, saw his legal career take off, eventually leading to him defending John Scopes in what became known as the Scopes Monkey Trial. Scopes was charged with teaching evolution in schools in Tennessee. One of the strike’s most lasting effects was the creation of Labor Day as a federal holiday in 1894, which eased employer-employee tensions nationwide.
Finally, the Pullman Company continued to produce Sleeping Cars in Chicago until the factory closed in 1955. The Pullman Company struggled with the inventions of the automobile and the airplane and their use for long travel post World War II.
Today, several of the former town’s buildings serve as the Pullman National Historic Site managed by the National Park Service. The Administration Building is a visitor center and contains artifacts and exhibits related to the company, town, strike, porters, and rail travel. Many buildings, such as the Hotel Florence, still stand in the city, although many have been repurposed. Park rangers offer guided tours of the area, and self-guided walks are available. Children of all ages can participate in the Junior Ranger program.
This National Historic Site has great potential as an important place for industrial, rail, African-American, urban planning, and labor history in the United States. With proper restoration funding, the Pullman National Historic Site could become a jewel of the National Park Service within the city limits of Chicago.