102
l0 D,qysTHar UNsxpECrrEDLy
Cunxcro Ar,lEnrc,q
War and Recanstruction
Era (1995). Geoffrev C. Ward's The Civil
War:An lllustrated History provtdesa lucid and colorful account of
the war. In the Presence
of Mine Enemies:The Civil War in theHeart
ofAmerica,1859-1863 (2003),Edward Ayers showsthe impact of
nationaleventson two countieson oppositesidesof the Masonr
Dlxon Line.
The most thorough military historv from the Confederate
July6, 1892
TheHomestead
Strike
viewpoint is Shelby Foote'sthree-volumework The Civil War;A
Narrative (7958-7974). For a northern perspective,Hazu the
North Won:A Military History of the Civil War (1983) by Herman
Hattaway and Archer Jonestreats all aspectsof the northern war
effort. The experienceof the common soldier is exploredin Gerald Linderman's Embattled Courage:The Experienceof Combat in
tbeAmerican Cir-,i/War (1988).The politics of the Emancipation
Proclamation are addressedin two studies,LaWanda Cox's Lincoln and Black Freedom:A Study in PresidentialLeadership(1981)
and Robert Durden's The Gray and the Black: The Confederate
Debateon Emancipation(1.972).
i
l
l
l
arly on the morning of July 6,1-892, two coveredbarges,
f'
.
*i- the lron Mauntain and the Manongahela,floated down the
MonongahelaRiver toward Andrew Carnegie'sHomestead steel
plant. Located about six miles upriver from Pittsburgh, Homesteadwas the crown jewel in Andrew Carnegie'svast steelmanufacturingempire.The customizedbargescontained enough food
to lastseveralweeks,aswell as300 pistols and 250 rifles.The boats
alsocarried some 300 Pinkerton "detectives."With their symbol
of an open eye,and their slogan"We Never Sleep,"the Pinkertons
gavebirth to the term "private eye." In realiry they were a wellarmed mercenary army of private police officials used to crush
laborstrikes.On this day they had come to bust the union of steel
workers.Harper\ WeekQnoted that the agency"hired themselves
out, and fought more or lessbravelyon whateverside of a contest
they found the best pay and the most tempting boory without
taking the slightestinterest in the merits or demerits of the
cause
they fought for or
against."
101
104
r05
l0 Dlvs Tuar UnrxpECTEDLy
CH,qncEp
Aurnrc,q
Tr-rsHo\4EsrEln SrRrrE
The industrial revolution produced wrenching changes for
leadershiptried winning the confidence of businessleaders by
presentingthemselvesas moderateand mainstream,and were al-
American workerswho felt trapped in a new industrial order that
had turned them into cogsin a wheel."They no longer carriedthe
keysof the workshop,for workshops,tools and keysbelongednot
to them, but to their master,"observedunion leaderTerencePowderly.The fiiction reacheda boiling point in the 1870sand 1880s
when workers otganrzedan unprecedentednumber of protests
and strikes.In 1877 raiTwayworkers organizedthe first national
strike in American history to protestsalarycuts.Nine vearslater
unions battled with McCormick ReaperWorks, a confrontation
that culminatedwith a deadlybomb explodingin Chicago'sHaimarket Square,killing seven policemen and injuring slxw bi-
wayscareful to distinguish themselvesfrom more radical organizt:oons.They often cooperatedwith managementand opposed
strikes"for frivolous purposes."
Despite their conservativeapproach,businessleaders feared
the growing power of this union and felt the time had come to
forcea confrontation that would diminish the r-rnionand establish
once and for all the power of corporate managementto control
the workplace.The confronfation "was not so much a questionof
disagreementas to wages,but a design upon labor organization,"
opined the HomesteadLocal News.
sevenwere convictedof conspiracyto commit murder.The Har-
No one epitomized the concentrationof corporatewealth and
powerbetter than Andrew Carnegie.Born in Scotland,Carnegie
marketriot, which produceda nationalbacklashagainstlabor rad-
immigratedto the United Stateswith his impoverishedparentsin
icalismand strengthened
the hand ofbusiness,casta dark shadow
1848. He gradually climbed the American industrial pyramid,
over labor-managementrelationsfor the rest of the century.
startingout as a messengerboy in a Pittsburgh telegraphoffice.In
t873, at the age of thirty-eight, he used money earned from in-
standers.For thesedeaths,eight anarchistswere put on trial and
The confrontation at Homesteadpitted againsteachother nvo
of the most powerful playersin the new industrial order. If anv
union could resistthe growing corporatetide it was the AmalgamatedAssociationof Iron, Steel,andTin Workers,the most powerful craft union in the country at the end of the nineteenth
century. Earlier rn 1892 the Pittsburgh Post called the union "the
most powerful independent labor organization in the world."
Formed in7876 by the mergerof threegroups,the iron and steel
union boastedof having nearlv rwenty-four thousandmembers'
nearly a quarter of the eligibleworkers in the industry.The membershipwas made up largely of skilled workers of northern European descent-Irish, English, Scottish, and Welsh-who
felt
little kinship with less skilled laborers,blacks,or recent immrgrantsfrorn southernand EasternEuropeancountries.The uniorl
vestmentsto build the giant J. Edgar Thomson Steel Works in
Pittsburgh. Mingling the Puritan doctrine of stewardshipwith
ruthlessbusinesspractices,Carnegie managedto keep his prices
low and drive competitorsout of business.To guaranteeadequate
supplies,Carnegieacquiredsourcesof iron ore for pig iron to producehis steeland ofcoke and coal to fire the furnaces,and he developeda fleet of steamshipsand a railroad fbr transporting the
raw materialsdirectly to his mills. "From the moment thesecrude
sfuffswere dug out of the earth until they flowed in a stream of
liquid steelin the ladles,"noted a Carnegie contemporary,"there
wasnevera price, profit, or rovalw paid to an ontsider."
As tensionsbetween labor and caoital escalateddurins the
1880s,Carnegiebilled hirnselfasthe fri.nd of'labor.H. .*p..r*.,i
106
l0 DaysTunr UxexpECrEDLy
CHaNcEo
A:ur,Rlc,q
his sympathytoward labor, emphasizedpeacefulcooperation,and
denouncedthe use of strikebreakers."There is an unwritten law
among the best workmen," Carnegie penned. "Thou shalt not
take thy neighbor'sjob." In public he consideredworker organization a "sacredright," said industry should "meet the men more
than half way," and preachedthe wonders of arbitration.In prac-
T H r H o l v r E s r E nS
or R r r E
network,watching everyapworkersset uP a wide reconnaissance
ptoachto town, twenty-four hours a day.They createda workers'
advisorycommittee consisting of forry memberswho organized
the mill on "a truly military basis."Theydivided the four thousand
workers and townspeopleinto three divisions that watched the
town in rotating eight-hour shifts. There was no trouble getting
ebratedthe benefitsof better goods and lower pricesthat resulred
volunteers.Nearly every adult crtizen clamored to participate.
They were fighting to protect their jobs. If the Pinkertons gained
from competition, although he alsoinsistedthat the rich were obligated to spend some of their wealth to benefit their "poorer
control of the mill, managementwould then import nonunion
workers,whom union members dismissedas "scabs,"to perform
brethren."
their jobs. "To be confronted with a gang of loafers and cutthroatsfrom all over the country,coming there,asthey thought, to
taketheir jobs, why, they naturallywanted to go down and defend
tice, however,Carnegiewas often a ruthlessbusinessmanwho cel-
Carnegie'stough-mindedbusinesspracticeswere on open display at Homestead.In June 7892, Henry Clay Frick announced
that the companywould no longer recognizethe union and would
sign individual contractswith workers.Frick, who made a fortune
their homesand their property and their lives,with force,if necessary,"recalledone worker.
in the coke industry beforemanagingCarnegie'splant, had a well-
In the early morning hours ofJuly 6, a watchman posted on a
earned reputation as a fierce opponent of organizediabor. Al-
bridgein Pittsburgh spotted the Pinkertons.Within minutes op-
though he stood only five feet three inches,Frick was an intense
and intimidating figure."You seethat his head is there, placedon
erativessent telegramswarning the people of Homestead of the
impending invasion. To alert the town, union men sounded a
that body,for his triumph and your defeat,"noted a contemporar\'.
powerfulsteamwhistle and set off fireworks.Riders spedthrough
the mill town waking up the residents.A journalist observedthat
Realizing that the union would never acceptthis demand, Frick
prepared for the inevitable battle, surrounding the mill with a
three-mile-long,twelve-foot-high fencetopped with barbedwire.
Workers, knowing the companyplanned to use the fence to protect strikebreakers,named Homestead Works "Fort Frick." On
June 29, Frick closed down the mill, locking out 3,800 workers.
The two sidesbracedthemselvesfor a bloody confrontation."It is
evidentthere is no bluffing at Homestead,"observed the lrlezuYotl
Times."The fight there is to be to the death."
The mill workers suspectedthat managementmight emplo1'
Pinkertonsand try to bring in nonunionworkers.The Homestead
at 3 A.M. a "horsemanriding at breakneckspeeddashedinto the
streetsof Homesteadgiving the alarm as he sped along."Within
minutes,thousandsof Homestead plant workers rushed toward
the riverbank, tearing down sectionsof the wooden fence surrounding the mill. "There was no method, no leadershipapparent. . . . It was an uprising of a population," wrote a reporter for
t\e ChicagoTribune.Looking out over the riverbank,one detective
saw "what appearedto be a lot of young men and boys on the
L,
oank,swearingand cursingand havinglargesticks."
The workersneededto keepthe Pinkertonsfrom establishins
y g r l c r . o A r r eR r t. r
l 0 D s s T u a r U N e x p L r( L - r r LC
THe HolaEsrgap SrRrxE
a beachhead.As long as they could keep the attackersbottled upr
althoughwater was all around us. . . . It is a wonder we did not all
go crazYor commit suicide."
Nter an intense battle lasting twelve hours, the Pinkertons
p.tt't.the workraiseda bullet-ridden white flag of surrender.At 4
ersfinally acceptedthe Pinkertons'surrender."Victory! We have
them now," shouteda union leader."They surrender."Theworkers
on the barges,they could win. The Pinkertons,who carried not
sticks but the latest Winchester rifles, had the advantagein firepower, but the workers had superior numbers.Workers scoured
the town for weapons,gathering together an assortmentof old
rifles and small arms. No one knows who fired the first shot, but
oncethe firing started,it continuedfor hours.One observerestimated lnore than one thousand shots rvere fired in the first ten
minutes.
Homestead workers even discovered a twenfy-pound cannon-an old piece of Civil War weaponry that had just been a
part of the Fourth ofJuly celebrationsin the town-and
put it to
work.Justbefore8 e.v. onJuly 6, as the Pinkertonstried to land,
workers blastedthe cirnnon at the barges.Thev missedtheir target, so they sent a railroad car loaded with burning barrels oi
oil at the barges.It stopped short. Next, the workers pumped oil
onto the surfaceof the river and attemptedto light the slick to encircle the barges.It was only lubricant oil and would not light. Fi-
the detectiveswould not be harmed. By this time,
g3raranteed
however,thousandsof townspeoplehad turned out to witnessthe
victory.Wives and children, workers, toughs, and even an occasionalanarchistwere milling around the dock. According to one
account,the joyous crowd formed itself "into tr,volines, 600 yards
long, betweenwhich the men from the bargeshad to pass."The
crowd assaultedthe detectivesas they walked the gauntlet. A
womanusedher umbrellato punch out the eyeof one man."The
men screamedfor mercy," wrote the Nezu York Wor/d."We were
clubbedat everystep,"one Pinkerton recalled."Sticks,stones,and
dirt were thrown at us. The women pulled us down, spat in our
faces,kicked us, and tore our clothing off while the crowd jeered
and bombardedthe bargeswith Roman candlesleft over from the
and cheered."Held in the local jail for their safetythe rest of the
afternoon,the Pinkertonsrode the night train out of town.
July Fourth celebrations.
As the sun roseoverthe town the heatin the bargesbecamerrl-
At the end of that hot July day, three Pinkertons and seven
mill workers lay dead; dozens more were injured. The next da1',
most unbearable.
The terrified Pinkertonscoweredbelowdecks,
the workers and the entire communiry mourned their dead and
lookedfor meaningin what had happened.The ReverendJ.J. Mc-
nally, the union members tosseddynamite onto the barge roofs
hungry, thirsry tired, and scared."The noise that they made on
shorewas awful, and it made us shakein our boots," one Pinkerton said."We were pennedin like rats and we went at the fighting
like desperatewild men. . . . All of our men were under the becls
and bunks, crying and trembling."
"It was a plirce of torment," said another. "Men were lr'ing
aroundwoundedand bleedingand piteousiybeggingfor sonreotrc
to give them a drink of water, but no one dared to get a drt,1.''
Ilyar,spiritual leaderof the Methodist EpiscopalChurch, blamed
the company for failing to recognizethe legitimate needsof the
town'sworkers. "The mill men were organizedin an association
that enabledthem to obtain just and adequateremuneration for
their services,"
he told mourners."The existence of this union of
menwas threatenedby a body of Pinkertons,employedby somebodyfor that
purpose.This is what hasput this blessedman in his
I l0
l0 Davs THar UNexpECTE'DLyCgnxcro
AMERICA
man; a good husband
coffin today: a perfect citizen; an intelligent
who was devotedand
who was neverlacking in his dury; a brother
loyal and who will surelyfind his reward'"
listened to Reverend
Many ',vho attended the service and
had not only repelled the
Mcllyar believed that the union men
control over the to'uvnand
Pinkertons,but seizedthe mill, gaining
the statefrom using the
savingtheir jobs. Norv if they could keep
believedthev could reverse
militia to break the strike' the workers
forceCarnegieto comPromtse'
the growingPowerof big business,
Homesteadworkandleinvigorate the flagging labor movement'
of democrac)''"The emers had articulated an alternativevision
Committee"'have built
plo1'ees,"noted the HomesteadAdvisory
and its churches;havefor
there a town with its homes,its schools
with the companf in the
many years been faithful co-workers
of dollars of their
businessof the mill; have investedthousands
of spending their lives in
savingsin said mill in the expectation
the strlkers"have equitable
Homestead."'fherefore' they argued'
that "it is againstpublic
rights and interests"in the mill, declaring
principles of American
pai.u and subversiveof the fundamental
to employment and full
liberty" that workers be denied the right
participation in the affairsof the mill'
of a hissignificance
Sometimesit takesdecadesto discernthe
Homestead'Everyonetorical event'That was not the caseat
on the street-reirlizcd
strikers'management,rePorters'people
the Americxn v'21'of
that the outcome would profoundly impact
fired that Julv mortrlife. As one contemporaryput it' "The shots
fired at Lexington' were
ing at the Pinkerton barges,like the shots
irl
'heardaroundthe world'"'The future of workplacedemocracY
of the divide were the
America hung in the balance'On one side
of the factory and the
workerswho believedin cotnmuniry control
systemwhere union lrlerrsurroundir-rgtown. They envisioneda
THa Hovrsreao SIRITE
at
as equalsin making all major decisions
berswould Participate
on equal
community' The union expectedto be
lnork u.,d in the
the factory
its emplovers,becoming "owners" of
foting with
On
hours a dav' six or sevendaysa week'
*fr"r"1n"u toiled twelve
new corporatemanagerswho' in an effort
,tr. o,fr., ,id. *.,. the
and increaseprofits' createdclear divisions
, Ororno,. efficiency
and labor' relegatingworkersto second-class
betweenmanagement
citizenshiPin the factorY'
their victory would be shortThe workershad won the da1',but
remainedsffong in its determina[ved. Homesteadmanagement
7' Carnegie cabled Frick from
tion to break the union' On July
you stand firm' Never employ
Scotland:"All arxiety gone since
over Ivorks'Must not fail now'
oneof theserioters' Let grassgrow
may have scoreda vicYou will win easilynext trial'" The workers
the war for workplace
tory in the "Battle for Homestead"' but
wasjust beginning'
democracY
***
almost total
In 1889 economistDavid A' Wells announced''An
in everybranch
revolutionhas taken place' and is yet in progress'
commercialsysand in evervrelatio" uf tht world's industrial and
Untem." Wells was observingthe secondindustrial revolution'
in the
like the first industrial revolution,which started in Britain
and the
late eighteenthcenrur)',the secondemergedin Germany
Pittsburgh'
United Statesduring ,t,. f gZO''Whether in Berlin or
the economi. trunrfor*ation sharedcommon features:a growing
of
population,the dcvelopmentof new itrventions'the expansion
that
the railroads,and the emergenceof a national marketplace
kindled consumer demand. This favorable environment invited
experiments
entrepreneurs
and governmentto launch ambitious
in harnessingthe nation'sindustrialpotential'
l0 D.qvs Tu.qr UNExpECTEDLyCHaxce o Ar'rERrca
The second industrial revolution also produced wrenching
changesfor American workers. "There is no permanent classof
hired laborersamong us," Abraham Lincoln said in the 1850s.
Twenty yearslater Lincoln's statementseemedantiquated.Before
the Civil War the United Stateswas an overwhelmingly agricultural nation. About 60 percentof all workerstoiled on a farm; only
30 percentwere involved in nonagriculturalpursuits. By the end
of the century,those numbershad reversed.The nation'sgrorving
urban areasof the Northeast and Midwest saw their manufacturing workforce quadruple, from 1.5 million workers in 1860 to
T u a H o r u E s r e n oS t R t r E
that inwith new ways to organize and control the workplace
ewoblylimited worker freedom.Many furned to the new ideasof
uscientificmanagement."Pioneeredby an engineernamedFrederickW. Taylor, scientificmanagementimposeda new level of regirnentation on factory life by promising to allow companies to
lowercostsand increaseprofits by subdividingmanufacturinginto
smalltasks.Taylor useda stopwatchto dissectthe "millions of dif
ferent operations" that factory workers performed. With these
dme-motion studies,he was able to determine the simplest' and
nearly6 million in 1900.
way of performing eachjob. Taylor's systemresultedin
cheapest,
the standardizattonof work proceduresthat made many factory
Labor not only moved from agriculrureto manufacfuring,it
transitioned from small shops to large factories."Of the nearh'
taskspainfully monotonous."The different branchesof the trade
aredivided and subdividedso that one man may makejust a par-
three millions of peopleemployedin the mechanicalindustriesof
this country,at leastfour-fifths areworking under the factory svs-
ticular part of a machine and may not know anything whatever
aboutanother part of the samemachine,"machinistJohn Morri-
tem," a statisticianestimatedin 1880.In the South,where cotton
sontold a Senatecommitteein 1883.
mills and tobaccofactorieswere the largestindustrial emplor.ers,
the averagefactory work force doubled between 1870 and 1900.
The new emphasis on org nrzation also burdened workers
with a tighter system of discipline. Employers often forbade
The Cambria Iron Works in Johnstown, Pennsylvania,emploved
a thousandworkers in 1860;by the end of the cenrury,that num-
singing,drinking, joking, smoking, or conversationon the job.
Foremenimposed fines for even minor infractions.Many compa-
ber had swelledto nearlyten thousand.In many cities,huge facto-
nies denied immigrant workers time to celebratetheir holidays
and holy days. Companies enamored of the rigors of scientific
ries employing thousandsof workers became commonplace.Bv
1910, General Electric employed fifteen thousandworkers at its
plant in Schenectady,New York, as did the Pullman PalaceCar
managementabolishedolder work patterns,which included periods of heary work followed by leisurelybreaks,and institutional-
Company and InternationalHarvesterin Chicago.The transfor-
izeda continual oaceofwork svnchronizedwith machines."In the
mation from small shop production to factory wage earnerrobbed
tactory there is no chance to read," complained one man, "and the
noise and hum of machinery prevent general conversation, even
many workers of their senseof independence.Workers who had
been self-employed now depended on large companies to prv
their wages.In 1860 asmanypeoplewere self-employed
asearned
wages.By 1900,two of everythreeAmericansreliedon wages.
Also during this time, corporatemanagerswere experimenting
n'
rvhenthe rules and discipline do not positivelyforbid it."
Not surprisingly,contemporary accountsof worker attitudes
arefilled with expressions
of resentmenttoward the new industrial
system.Workers resistedmany of the new restrictionsby forming
t14
l15
l 0 D n y s T u n r U N e x p E C T E D LC
y uaNcEp AveRrcn
T u u H r ) \ 4 E S T E ASDr R r r E
cooperativealliancesand organ\zingwildcat strikes,but most felt
helplessagainstthe onslaughtof industrtalization."That a deep-
trend by replacing the existing salary structure with a "sliding
scale"basedon the market cost of steel.Labor vigorouslyopposed
rooted feeling of discontentpervadesthe masses,none can den\,;"
TerencePowderlywrote in 1885.Two yearslater, after surveyillg
the plan, realizingthat it could dramaticallycut wagesand provide
Carnegiewith an excuseto hire fewer skilledworkers.Confronta-
working-classopinion in his state,a governmentofficial in Connecticut commented on "the feeling of bitternesswhich so fre-
tion seemedinevitable.The first clash took place at the J. Edgar
Thomson SteelWorks. In 1888, after a seriesof work stoppages
quently manifests itself in their utterances,"their "distrust of
employers,"and their palpable"discontentand unrest."
had forced him to acceptthe union's demand for an eight-hour
day,Carnegie closed the plant, fired all union workers, and re-
The confrontation at Homesteadresultedfrom Carnegie'son-
openedit with nonunion labor protected bv Pinkerton guards.
Anyone wishing to work at Thomson was required to sign the
going efforts to streamlinehis processand cut labor costs.By the
produced tons of steeldaily, and generatedmillions of dollars for
Carnegie"ironclad"contractrenouncingunion membership.The
plant then returned to two twelve-hour shifts. Pay was basedon
Carnegie and his company.In the previous decades,technologv
the sliding scalecontrolled by the fluctuating price of steel.The
had dramatically changedthe way steelwas produced,and Car-
resultwas longer hours at lower pay.
late 1880s,Homesteadempioyedroughly three thousandpeople,
negie wanted to reorganizethe labor force to reflect these new
In 1889, Carnegieturned his attentionto Homestead,where
realities.In 1855,a British inventor,Henry Bessemer,
developed
he presentedworkers with the same terms as those at Thomson
a new method for massproducing high-grade steel.The process
Works-no
involved using blasts of air to remove particles of carbon from
that amountedto a 20 to 25 percentcut. The AmalgamatedAssociation at Homestead went on strike in an attempt to get more
iron. The invention led to a tenfold increasein steel production
between 1877 and 7892,but it also representeda seriousthreat to
the powerful steelworkers'union, sinceit requiredfewer laborers
and eliminated the need for skilled workers.Thus, the technologv
allowed Carnegie to reducecostsby reducing his dependenceon
skilledlabor.As one commentatorput it: "Whatever can be done
by machinery, let machinery do, for it at least is insensibleto
Fourth ofJuly, Washington'sbirthday,political meetings,pav-davs
and whisky."
Because of preexisting contracts, skilled workers benefited
union members,a twelve-hour day, and a pay scale
favorablewages under the sliding scale,to force the company
to recognizetheir union, and to asserttheir right to advisethe
company on hiring, firing, and adding new technology.When
William Abbott, rhe managerof Homestead,attempted to bring
in nonunion labor,the workersrounded them up and ran them off
the properfy.Eventuallx Abbott gave in to union demands.The
union agreedto sign a three-vearcontract that accepteda sliding
scaleof wages,but set a minimum price of $25 per ton. Most observersconsideredthe settlementa major victory for the workers.
from the new technologysincethey were paid by the ton. As production soared,their pay increasedevenastheir skillsbecameob-
Carnegie,however,was furious with the arrangement,and resolvedto produce a different result when the union contract ex-
solete.By the late 1880s,Carnegiefocusedon countering this
pired in three years."The
great objection to the compromiseis of
l0 D,qvs THxr UNExpECTEDL)'CsaNce o AuERtc,q
Tue, HoursrE.qo SrRrrE
coursethat it was made under intimidation-our men in other
1|reyrefused,he would import nonunion workers.Carnegie,vacationing in the ScottishHighlands, sent Frick a note encouraginga
Carnegie
works now know that we will'confer'with law breakers,"
wrote Abbott. For the new negotiations,Carnegie replacedAbbott with Henry Clay Frick, who was notorious for resorting to
violence to break strikes at his coal and coke companiesprior to
coming to Homestead.
In January1892,Frick askedthe union to submit its proposais
for a new contract.The union askedonly for a renewalof the previous contract.While the two sidesengagedin "negotiirtions,"the
fact was that Frick had no intention of compromising,or offerins
any deal acceptableto the union. While labor argued that thev
had certain rights becausethey investedtheir lives and labor into
the company,Frick firmly believedthat the company'stitled orvnership was the only justification needed for hiring whotnever at
whateverwage the companywanted. Frick believedthat labor had
no right to force the companyinto negotiatingwith an independent organizatLon-a union-over wages,and wanted laborersto
work for the mill as individuals only. The unions, Frick had de-
hard line. "We all approveof anlthing you do, not stopping short
of approvalof a contest.We arewith you to the end." OnJune 28,
he sentanother cableto Frick. "Cablesdo not seemfavorableto a
seftlementat Homestead.If those be correct,this is your chance
@ reorganizethe whole affair."The union understoodclearly that
Frick was trying to force a confrontation.It called his proposal"a
propositionby the firm that they knew we would not accept."It
said,however,that it was willing to acceptwage cuts if manage"We want to settle it withment could show cuts were necessary.
out trouble,"they declared.Although the union assuredFrick they
udon'twant a strike," they set up a specialstrike committee and
preparedto stand firm.
Now Frick was making plans for a lockout. He pushedworkers
throughoutMay and June to generatea stockpileof steelgoodsin
casethe mill had to quit operations.Then, in a move that affirmed
cided,no longerhad a placeat Homestead.
the worst fears of the Amalgamated Association,Frick commissionedthe erectionof a tweive-foot-high wooden fence.A rhyme
Not surprisingly,the unions rejectedFrick's initial offer,rvhich
slashedwages acrossthe board but had its greatestimpact ot-t
that began to circulate around Homestead in June of 7892 capturedthe situation:
skilled craftsmen.They felt justified in their rejection; after all,
they were not asking for more mone\',just a reaffirmation of the
Therestandstodayzuithgreatpretense
status quo. Not only that, the union leadersnow felt confident
that a strike might be effectivebecausethe company had just rc-
En c|osed
zuithin a wh i tevtashedfence
ceived a lucrative contract from the U.S. Navy to provide armor
plate for the USS Montereyand USS Nezt'York.Union leadersrea-
The mills transformedinto afort.
sonedthat Frick would not want to jeopardizea highly profitablc
The June deadline of the fwenry-fourth came and went, and
talks broke down cornpletely.True to his word, Frick shut down
relationshipwith the government.
Frick gave the union a June 24 d,eadlineto accepthis offer' Ii
A wondrouschangeoJ'greatimport,
the armor plate mill on
June 29-'eight hundred workers were
l0 D.qvs THnr UNe,xpECTEDLy
CHarucEoAnreRrc.q
T U EH o v E s r e r o S r n r r E
sent home; the lockout had begun.That night Frick was burned
the workerswere protecting the mills and that the stateshould not
intervenein a private labor dispute.Their appealsfell on deaf ears.
in efhgy all over Homestead.The next day,a mass meeting of
roughly three thousand workers convened at the town meetirig
hall and defiantly resolvedto stand firm. On July 2 noticesrvere
postedaround Homesteadstating that the company'scurrent contract with the workers would no longer be honored; anyoner,vho
wanted to return to work had to do so as nonunion labor. The
mood was somber at the July 4 celebrationsin the town when
"HonestJohn" Mcluckie, burgessof the town and a mill worker,
addressedthe crowds: "We can't celebratethe Fourth until r,ve
know whether or not the Declaration of Independenceis stil1in
Two days lateq the governor ordered the state militia to Homestead.On Monday, July 11, a train carrying eight thousand soldiersarrived in ninety-five cars,pitching their white tents on the
sideof a hill overlooking the town, strategicallypositioning their
cannonsfacing the mills. "It meansjust this," said one worker,
'that the entire National Guard of the State of Pennsylvaniahas
beencalled out to enablethe Carnegie company to employ scab
labor."
The workers held fast; they believed they had done nothing
force in this country." Both sideswere locked in an ideological
wrong and hoped to convincethe militia to protect them against
struggle to assertwhat each consideredtheir rights as American
anotherPinkerton attack.The union sent a welcoming committee
workers and entrepreneurs.
to greet the troops with four brassbands.Their efforts failed to
On July 5, Frick sent Allegheny Counry sheriffWilliam NIcCleary to take possessionof the mill. McCleary arrived in Home-
engendergoodwill. "I don't want any brass-bandbusinesswhile
I'm here," said the commanding officer."I want you to distinctly
steadon July 5, followed by a force of deputiesand rumors of the
understandthat I am masterof this sifuation."He announcedthat
approaching Pinkertons. The union and town were galvanized.
Homesteadwas now under martial law.The militia's purposewas
to breakthe strike and to protect the properryrights of the Carne-
Led by Hugh O'Donnell and John Mcl-uckie, the union cor-rvinced the sheriff that the law was not neededand proceededto
escort his force out of town. A few hours later, early on Julr' 6,
scoutsspottedthe Pinkertons approachingthe town.
gie corporation.
Within three days,the Homestead mills were back in operation, protectedby soldierswielding rifles with fi-xedbayonets.The
companyhad acceptedapplicationsfrom old workers who had
not participatedin violence.Many refusedto submit applications,
Events at Homestead enraged organized labor all across tl.re
United States.In a show of solidarity for their brethren,thrce
went on strike.The solidrrrother Carnegiemills in Pennsylvania
iry lifted spirits, but the workers at Homestead knew that while
they could defeatCarnegie'sprivate army,they were no match for
the state'swell-trained militia. On July 8, a union delegationmet
with the state'sgovernor,Robert E. Pattison,to convincehirn thlt
but there were plentv of other potential laborerseager for jobs.
"There is alwaysan army of unemployedin the United States,and
upon theseas well as underpaidworkers in variouslines-clerks,
strugglingyoung professionalmen and others-who were tempted
by the high wagessaidto be paid at Homesteadthe firm could and
l'r
.
uro
draw freely,"observeda local journalist. By mid-August the
rnill wasback in fulI swing,employing 1,700replacementworkers.
120
SrRtrr,
fHE Holtr,srr,ao
l0 D,q,vsTuar UNExpECTEDLYCtta:rcEo AIueRtca
Public sympathyfor the union erodedfurther on July 23 when
Russian anarchistAlexander Berkman, after posing as an agent
for nonunion laborers,burst into Frick'soffice and shot him twice.
"Murder!" Frick cried."Helpl" A wrestling match ensued.Berkman then pulled a knife, stabbingFrick three times in the hip and
left leg. Aithough seriouslywounded, Frick continued the fieht
until aides rushed in and subduedhis attacker.Doctors worried
whether Frick would live, but he refusedto leavehis office,forcing
them to probe his neck and back for bullets without the aid of
anesthesia.After the bullets were removed and the wounds
stitched, Frick finished his paperwork. "This incident will not
change the attitude of the Carnegie Steel Company toward the
AmalgamatedAssociation,"he told the press."I do not think I
shall die, but whether I do or not, the Company rviil pursuethe
same policy and it will win." Frick recoveredand became even
more determinedto win: "I will fight this thing to the bitter end.I
will neverrecognizethe Union, never,never!"
In August, Berkman was convicted of attempted murder and
sentencedto twenry-oneyearsin prison.When the pressreported
the story it had two devastatingeffectson the workers of Homestead:it raisedthe specterof radicalismpenetratingPennsyivania's
steel mills and it elicited public sympathy fbr Frick. "It would
seemthat the bullet from Berkman'spistol, failing in its foul intent, went straight through the heart of the Homestead strike'
noted n union leader.
In an unprecedentedmove, Chief Justice Edward P*r,rn t''i
the PennsylvaniaSupreme Court indicted labor organizers on
chargesof treasonin October.The union'smain leaders,including Mcl-uckie, were barred from the steelindustry, and their firte
mirrored the path industrial unions would take in and around
Pittsburgh for the next forry years.After the summer of L892'
l2l
murder and treasonstemMcluckie fled the state,chargedwith
last visited Homestead in
ming from the violence of July 6' He
disappearedand was last
L894.Apparentlyunableto find work, he
seenworking as a miner in Mexico'
The now strong alliancebefweenbig businessand statePower
Local
The Homesteod
doomed any hope of victory for the workers'
two thousand men
Neus repottedon October 15 that more than
former employwere working in the mill, including one hundred
two conclusions:
ees.Based on this report' the paper reached
'First, the Carnegie Company is gradually succeeding'Second'
out'" In midthe great Homestead strike is gradually dying
men
November,the union conceded'Three hundred locked-out
were blacklisted'
applied for work and were rehired' Many more
of loyThose rerurning were emasculated,forced to sign a pledge
not been
alty and a statement declaring that the applicant had
and did
on companygrounds,had not participatedin the rioting'
not know anyone who had. With the union crushed' Carnegie
slashedwages' imposed twelve-hour workdays' ceasedextra Pay
jobs'
for working on the Sabbath,and eliminated five hundred
"Our victory is now completeand most gratif ing," Frick wrote in
"Life
a congratulatorynote to Carnegie,who crowed frorn Italy'
worth living again-Cables received-first happy morning since
July."
The battle at Homesteadbroke the spirit of the town. visiting
Homestead the year after the strike, author Hamlin Garland
painted a bleak picture rn McClure\ Magazine'"The town was as
squalid and unlovely as could well be imagined, and the people
rveremainly of the discouragedand sullenfype to be found everywhere where labor passesinto the brutalizing stageof severiry"
he wrote. .Such rowns are sown thickly over the hill-lands of
Pennsylvania.. . . They are American only in the sensein which
l0 D,qvsTs,qr UxexpECTEDLy
CuaNcro Ar,rERrca
T H s H o l r E s r E n pS r R r r r
they representthe American idea of business."He was surprised
cornrnon."Oh that Homesteadblunder,"Carnegiewrote a friend.
"But it's fading as all eventsdo & we are at work selling steelone
to find that few of the workers expressedsupport for either the
strike or the strikers. "We can't hurt Carnegie by slx months'
starving.It's our ribs that'll show through our shirts.A man working for fourteen centsan hour hasn'tgot any surplusfor a strike."
The tough responsefrom big businessand the state government to the Homestead strike also helped to revitalize the steel
industry and laid the foundation for America's industrial supremacyin the twentieth century.In 1896 the companyproduced
pound for a half Penny."
The strike made ciearthat in labor disputesgovernmentwould
intervenedecisivelyon the side of capital. For most of the nineteenth century the federal government had remained small and
ineffectual,delegatingmost domesticresponsibilitiesto the states.
Homesteadremovedany doubt that governmentwould now side
with businessin its confrontationswith labor.
making it the largeststeelmanufacfuringfacility in the world. Bv
Just two years after Homestead the nation was gripped by a
crippling depression.With wages slashedand factories closing,
1910, the United Stateswas making more than 28 million tons
manyworkers went on strike. During the first year of the depres-
and was by far the number-one producer of steel in the world.
During peacetime,that steel forged the infrastructure of eco-
sion, 1,400 strikes sent more than half a million workers from
their jobs. In 7894, Jacob Coxey, accompaniedby his wife and
nomic progress,creating bridges and runnels, cars and locomo-
infant son, Legal Tender Coxey, led five hundred unemployed
tives, slyscrapersand factories.During wartime, it transformed
men,women, and children from Ohio to Washington. Coxey and
the nation into the "arsenalof democracy,"producing the tanks,
his followersplanned to presentgovernmentleaderswith "a petition with boots on," in support of a public works program of road
more than 25 percent of all steelproduced in the United States,
bombs, and guns that would overwhelm its enemies.
The Homestead strike delivered a crippling blow to organized
building. Having learned the lessonsof Homestead, President
Clevelandhad a hundred mounted policemen greet Coxey as he
labor and its vision of a working-class democracyin America.
enteredthe capitol grounds.
Carnegieusedhis success
at Homesteadto lead a union-busting
campaignacrossthe nation. His competitorsfollowed his example.
While Coxey'sarmy was calling for governmentaid to the unemployed,workers at the Pullman PalaceCar Company went on
In less than twelve months the iron and steel union lost nearlv
ten thousand members.Breaking the union allowed Carnegieto
strikewhen the companyrefusedtheir requestsfor higher wages.
Under the dynamic leadershipof Eugene Debs, the union forged
replace skilled workers with nonskilled labor. By 7907, almost
two-thirds of the Carnegieemployeesin Allegheny Counry Pennsylvania,were foreign born-mostly Eastern Europeans.The in-
a powerful alliance of all railroad workers and organizeda boycott
of the railroad. Under pressurefrom the businesscommuniry
Clevelanddecidedto put an end to the boycott and promptly dis-
creaseddiversity produced intense ethnic and racial tension'
weakening organizedlabor by making it more difficult to build a
patched &vo thousand troops to Chicago to "restore law and
order."Many people criticized Cleveland for his tactics,but not
senseof classsolidariryamong workerswho sharedlittle elsein
future presidentTheodore Roosevelt,who was then serving as a
America'sindustrial supremacycame at a grevt cost, however.
l0 Days THar Ui'rexpECTEDLyCHaNcEn Ar,lrRrc,.\
civil service commissioner.He advised his fellow citizens that
suchradicalsentimentcould be suppressed
only "by taking ten or
a dozen of their leadersout, standing them against a wall xnfl
shootingthem dead."
1
Tsr Hovrsrlap
SrnrrE
Henry ClayFrick:An Intimate Portrait (1998).On the complicated
relationshipbetweenCarnegieand Frick seeLes Standiford,Meet
Youin Hell (2005). The best modern historical treatment of the
Homestead conflict is Paul Krause's Tbe Battle for Homestead;
1880-1892 (1992). William Serrin's Homestead:The Glory and
Tragedyof an American SteelTotun, takes the story of Homestead
In the 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville observed that the un_
bridled pursuit of self:interest presented a grave threar to the
proper functioning of a democracy.He warned the "friends of
democracy"to "keep their eyes arxiously fixed" on the grorving
into the late twentieth century-when the Homestead mill was
finally closed.
power of the "manufacturingaristocracy."The Homestead battle
resolved,at leastin the workplacesetting,the fensionin American
For good overviewsof the period seeH. W. Brands'sThe RecklessDecade:America in the 1890s and David Montgomery's The
democracybetween individual rights and public good. Workers
believedthat it was rhe responsibiliryof the governmenrro prorect
Fall of tlteHouseof Labor. Perhapsthe most insightful and thoughtprovokingwork on this period is an article by Herbert G. Gutman
tided "Work, Culture, and Society in Industrializing America,
communiry standardsand quality of life. Management believed
that government should enforce the properry rights of business
leaderslike Andrew Carnegie.The state'sresponseto l{omestead
clearly establishedthat Carnegie'srights outweighed the general
rights of any residents of Homestead. Any hope of creating a
working-classdemocracyin America died on that bloodl,July day
in Pennsylvania.
ForFurther
Reading
For anyoneinterestedin readingmore about the Homesteadconflict of 1892,Arthur Burgoyne's1893 rnonograph TbeHomestead
Strike 0f 1892 is the place to start. Another useful primary source
is David P DemarestJr.'s "The River Ran Red": Homestead,
1892
(1992).JosephFrazterWall has published the "definitive"biography of Andrew Carnegie (Andreu Carnegie[1989]). Anyone interestedin Henry Clay Frick shouldreadSamuelA. SchreinerJr.'s
Henry Clay Frick: Tbe Gaspelof Greedand Kenneth Warren's Zi'ium?hant Capitalism:Henry Clay Frick and tbe Industrial Tranfbr'
mation of America. AIso valuable is Martha Frick St.mington's
t875-7919 ," published rn TbeAmericanHistorical Reztieutin 1973.