Jowa Shi
Blog Post: 9/9/2016
GSI: Matthew Gonzales
The
Homestead Strike and The 42th Parallel
At the turn of the 19th century, the United States labor movement was in full force with
the rise of prominent unions, such as the American Federation of Labor. Despite
cheaper and greater selection of consumer goods, industrialization had lead to
the subdivision of jobs into fragments that could largely be completed by
machines. As a result, many skilled and unskilled workers were forced to
perform demoralizing, repetitive tasks with long days and little pay in
unregulated factories and sweatshops. In The 42nd Parallel, Mac embraces the ideals of Marxism, social democracy, and a
people’s revolution, as he is an unskilled laborer, wandering the country for a
place to make a living. These ideals are evident in this passage:
“The exploiting classes would be helpless against the solidarity
of the whole working class… The workers must realize that every small fight,
for higher wages, for free-speech, for decent living conditions, was only
significant as part of the big fight for the revolution.” (95)
As a result of the oppression, certain workers of that time period
chose to join unions in an effort to voice their concerns and to negotiate
better working conditions. One of the more prominent strikes – the Homestead
Strike - occurred between the Carnegie Steel Company and the Amalgamated
Association of Iron and Steel Workers in Homestead, Pennsylvania. On July 6th, 1892, a bloody strike ensued when
Henry Clay Frick, the operations manager, announced a wage cut a few days prior
in an effort to crush the union. Frick hired strikebreakers (nonunion workers)
and Pinkerton agents (private security agents) to take over the steel plant and
lock the union workers out. The union workers clashed with the Pinkertons and
shots were fired as violence ensued.
Dos Passos discusses this uprising as he places J. Ward Moorehouse
right next to the event in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. There was a general sense of
uneasiness and confusion during the labor movement, with some heavily criticizing
large corporations and others complaining about the strikers’ dissatisfaction.
It was said that “certain writers from New York and Chicago, who were
sentimentalists began to take a good deal of space in the press with articles
flaying the steel industry and the feudal conditions in Pittsburgh as they
called them, and the progressives in Congress were making a howl, and it was
rumored that people wanted to make politics out of it were calling for a
congressional investigation” (223). While J. Ward Moorehouse is keenly aware of
the social turmoil, he instead converses with Mr. McGill about using this
strike opportunity to create a new line of business to “educate the public”
about social events through long term publicity, thereby serving in a public relations
position (223).
Although the union won control of the steel plant, Carnegie
contacted the Governor Robert Pattison, who sent out 8,500 soldiers from the
State National Guard to Homestead. Eventually, the union was disbanded and the
steel plant became operation again from “scab” workers and prior union workers
who switched sides to get their jobs back. Union leaders were charged with
murder and union workers were blacklisted. Public opinion also soured against
unions because of the brutality against Pinkertons and an independent assassination
attempt on Frick. Interestingly, Dos Passos points out the hypocrisy of
Carnegie’s actions as he writes, “Andrew Carnegie gave millions for peace/ and
libraries and scientific institutes and endowments and thrift/ whenever he made
a billion dollars he endowed an institution to promote universal peace. Always/
except in time of war” (231). Despite Carnegie’s wish to bring peace and wisdom
to future generations, he ruthless business tactics in order to in order to cut
cost and increase profits. In this way, it seemed as if Carnegie wanted to
educate the individual scholars and academics, while ignoring and abusing the
general crowd.
Discussion Questions:
1. “American industry like a steamengine, like a highpower
locomotive on a great express train charging through the night of old
individualistic methods…What does a steamengine require…Cooperation of capital
[and] labor, the prosperous contented American working man… given the full
dinnerpail, cheap motor transport, insurance, short working hours…a measure of
comfort and prosperity” (234)
Why do you think there wasn’t more cooperation between unions and
corporations? How does the “American dream” fit into this? Although the workers
were fighting for higher wages and better working conditions, why was the
public sentiment against them or, as least, not as supportive of their actions?
2. How does Mac represent the social environment during this time
period? What can be said about an individual’s voice and actions versus that of
the crowd?
3. How does the attitude towards the U.S. government during the
labor movement differ from the attitudes upon entering the war? What might have
caused this change?
Video:
"Homestead Strike."
History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 07 Sept. 2016.
Images:
http://battleofhomestead.org/battle.php"Battle
of Homestead Foundation."
The 1892 Battle of Homestead. N.p., n.d.
Web. 08 Sept. 2016.
Bibliography:
Adamczyk, Joseph. "Homestead
Strike." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Sept.
2014. Web. 07 Sept. 2016.
Dos Passos, John. U.S.A. 4th ed., 1996.
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1930.
Jackson, Bill. "History of
Labor Unions." History of Labor Unions. The Social Studies Help Center,
n.d. Web. 07 Sept. 2016.
"The Homestead Strike."
PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 07 Sept. 2016.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/peopleevents/pande04.html
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