Jonathan Grimaldo
1/20/15
History Fair
Annotated Bibliography
Primary Sources
1. Altgeld, John P. "Broken Spirits: Letters on the Pullman Strike." Broken Spirits: Letters
on the Pullman Strike. Chicago: George S. Bowen and Son, 21 Aug. 1894. Web. 20 Jan.
2015.
The source is letters during the Pullman strike. The 1 st letter was the starving
citizens of Pullman pleading to Governor John P. Altgeld to help them out by dealing
with George Pullman. The rest was the governor contacting Pullman about how he went
to the town of Pullman, IL with 2 representatives of the company to see the poverty and
suffering of workers and their families. I intend to use all the letters in my project to show
how Pullman was a greedy man who doesn’t care about the workers or his family,
because in the 4th letter the governor mentions the fact of Pullman not caring at all. This
will help me complete my project by showing the injustice that Debs and the union were
facing during the strike.
2. Baker, Ray Stannard. "Search Results." : "LOT 4069" N.p., 1893. Web. 21 Jan. 2015.
This source is a group of images that show the conditions of Pullman, Illinois and
its citizens. Pullman, IL is a town that had workers, their families, and poverty all over.
Pullman didn’t care if his town’s citizens suffered, he just wanted money. I intend to use
these images because this shows how greedy Pullman was by him not doing anything to
fix up the conditions of his town. This will help me understand the project by seeing how
he was capitalizing on cheap labor and high rent.
3. Coffin, G. A. "The Great Railway Strikes - Scenes in and about Chicago."The Great Railway
Strikes - Scenes in and about Chicago. Harper's Weekly Magazine, 21 July 1894. Web. 21
Jan. 2015.
This source is a newspaper article from 1894 about the riots of Pullman. In the
image there is the National Guard charging at the rioters. I intend to use this in my project
to show how the strike was being reported while it was happening. This will help me
understand the project better because this will show the stance of the newspaper company
on the strike.
4. Grossman, Ron. "The Pullman Strike." Chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune, 1894. Web. 19
Jan. 2015.
The source is a news article that states briefly the protests. The interesting part
was how it’s about the aftermath of the strike. I intend to use the quote that states “In
1898, the Illinois Supreme Court ordered Pullman Town sold off, ruling that a company
town was incompatible with the spirit of America.” This will help me complete the
project because it shows one of the many positive changes after the strike. It shows that
Debs gave justice to workers, George Pullman, and the country.
5. Remington, Frederic. "The Pullman Strike Images." The Pullman Strike Images. Harper's
Weekly Magazine, 21 July 1894. Web. 21 Jan. 2015.
Remington, Frederic. "The Pullman Strike Images." The Pullman Strike Images. Harper's
Weekly Magazine, 21 July 1894. Web. 21 Jan. 2015.
The sources both have the National Guard at the scene to act when there is a
major threat during the riots. They are going through the riots and keeping watch at night
to protect peaceful civilians from protesters. I intend to use this source because some
protesters would be violent and form a riot, so this is the government’s response to the
riots, they send the National Guard. This will help me understand the project because this
shows how involved the government was during riots.
6. Rogers, William A. "The Pullman Strike Images." The Pullman Strike Images. Harper's
Weekly Magazine, 14 July 1894. Web. 20 Jan. 2015.
The source is a political cartoon depicting Eugene V. Debs with a crown on a
bridge connected to the coast. This represents how his union is delaying trade to various
places by having the strike. I intend to use this source for it is how the media depicted
Debs, as a trouble maker for leading the union. This will help me understand the project
because this will show how the media influenced what the public thinks. Many were
against the union because of the negative buzz Debs had against him.
7. Rogers, William Allen. "The Pullman Strike Images." The Pullman Strike Images.
Harper's Weekly Magazine, 21 July 1894. Web. 21 Jan. 2015.
The source is the railroad union who are depicted as trouble makers because the
political cartoon calls them anarchists. Odd thing is that they are dressed like elves or
whatever, so I’m guessing it means to not take their word for it because they are a joke.
Debs is drawn with a crown that says “Deb's American railway union” meaning he’s the
leader. Basically this is an image slandering Debs and his union to get more people
against them. I intend to use this source because this shows what side the media was
taking during the strike. This will help me by understanding the project, because this
shows the stance the media had on the subject. Also if the media picks a side, chances are
that a majority of people will go for it, especially when it’s slandering someone.
8. Victoria Bissell Brown and Timothy J. Shannon. Going to the Source: The Bedford
Reader in American History, Volume 2: Since 1865. Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2007.
This source has 2 newspapers companies that wrote opposing opinions on the
Pullman Strike. The Chicago Times were pro-union by supporting the strike, for example
when there were riots their article stated that the hoodlums caused havoc. On the other
hand, The Chicago Tribune is against the union by giving it a bad image, for instance
when there were riots their article read that the drunken anarchists were the Debs strikers.
I intend to use this source to compare how each newspaper wrote a certain event that
happened in the strike. This will help me understand the project by seeing how the media
can influence the public for there were many against and for the union.
Secondary Sources
1. Brendel, Martina. "The Pullman Strike." The Pullman Strike. Ogden Elementary School,
Chicago, Dec. 1994. Web. 19 Jan. 2015.
The source is an informative article on events of the Pullman strike. This goes
more into how the feds intervened and how some governors didn’t want them to. Also
sheds light on how the media thinks of Debs. I intend to use the quote ” The railroad
managers started flooding the newspapers with stories that made Debs’ American
Railroad Union seem like a violent and lawless gang and portrayed Eugene Debs as a
radical. They claimed that unrest had always ended in violence and threatened that this
strike would be the same. The railroads began sending people to work on railroads as
strike breakers or scabs.” And “The governor of Illinois was John P. Altgeld. He did not
want to request troops because he believed that workers should have the same rights as
their bosses.” It will help me understand the project because these details show how
people other than workers (The Media, Managers, Government, etc.) reacted towards the
strike.
2. Debs, Eugene V., Walls and Bars. Chicago: Charles H. Kerr Publishing Company, 1927.
The source is a website commemorating Eugene V. Debs’ life and his
contributions to American history. The article is on the work he has done for not only
Pullman, but for many other places for the same cause, worker’s rights. I intend to use the
details him creating the union and how it affected workers’ lives. It will help me
understand the project by knowing how we was enthusiastic and motivated to give
workers rights, and how he’ll always keep trying to help workers have their demands
meet.
3. Lindsey, Almont. The Pullman Strike: The Story of a Unique Experiment and of a Great
Labor Upheaval. 1942.Smith, Carl. Urban Disorder and the Shape of Belief: The Great
Chicago Fire, the Haymarket Bomb, and the Model Town of Pullman. 1995.
The source is an official encyclopedia about Chicago History. The information in
the page is all accurate, because it matches up with other sources. I intend to use this
quote from the article stating “ARU president Eugene Victor Debs was arrested and
subsequently imprisoned for disregarding the injunction. “ meaning the leader of the
strike got arrested disregarding what the feds told him to do. It will help me to complete
the project by showing how people were fighting hard against a company, example being
the leader of the strike would rather get arrested than end all their (the union’s) progress
by calling off the strike.
4. Urofsky, Melvin I. "Pullman Strike | United States History." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012. Web. 21 Jan. 2015.
The source is an encyclopedia with high detail on the strike and court rulings. It
goes over the events of wage cuts, to peaceful gatherings, to injunctions, to its demise. I
intend to use the quote “A great deal of sympathy existed in Chicago and elsewhere for
the Pullman workers, who were seen as common men and women tyrannized by an
abusive employer and landlord.” meaning to how the union got many supporters for the
strike. It will help me finish the project by explaining how events of the streike went
down in detail.
5. Zinn, Howard, Mike Konopacki, and Paul Buhle. A People's History of American Empire: A
Graphic Adaptation. New York: Metropolitan, 2008. Print.
The source is an accurate (One sided) depiction of how America was formed. A
section of the book was focused on the Pullman strike and how it all happened. This
retells what I already and somewhat knowledgeable about, but it is a good visual aid to
keep me awake by basically reading an informative comic book. I intend to use the detail
of how George Pullman (Head Hancho of Company) was a greedy rich man who cheated
out workers during a depression during the mid 1890’s to make him still successful. “He
charged high rents and controlled every aspect of the workers’ lives. He called them “my
children.” It was a version of the Indian reservation system.” (Zinn 20). It will help me
understand my project better by learning George’s motives of cutting wages and raising
rent, this helps me learn why the opposition does what it does.