1. The article “Pullman Men Out” from the May 12, 1894, Chicago Tribune purported to be a simple description of the first day of the strike. How did it portray the American Railway Union (ARU)?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is B. The article was mostly neutral until it stated that the American Railway Union had been “proselytizing” among the workers. This term was used here in a pejorative sense to suggest that union leaders were fanatics seeking to convert others to their cause.
Incorrect. The correct answer is B. The article was mostly neutral until it stated that the American Railway Union had been “proselytizing” among the workers. This term was used here in a pejorative sense to suggest that union leaders were fanatics seeking to convert others to their cause.
Question
2. By July 1894, in the third month of the strike, the Chicago Tribune articles presented a view of striking workers and ARU members as
A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is D. By July 1894, the Chicago Tribune’s coverage used terms like anarchists and rebels to describe the strikers and their actions and referred to ARU leader Eugene Debs as “Dictator Debs.”
Incorrect. The correct answer is D. By July 1894, the Chicago Tribune’s coverage used terms like anarchists and rebels to describe the strikers and their actions and referred to ARU leader Eugene Debs as “Dictator Debs.”
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3. What did the Chicago Times articles from May 1894 suggest was the cause of the railroad strike?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is C. The Chicago Times pointed to the Pullman Company’s greed as the cause of the workers’ strike. It suggested that although Pullman claimed it could not afford to raise wages for its workers, it paid a large dividend of $600,000 to its stockholders. This, the Times suggested, showed that the company valued stockholders over workers and their families.
Incorrect. The correct answer is C. The Chicago Times pointed to the Pullman Company’s greed as the cause of the workers’ strike. It suggested that although Pullman claimed it could not afford to raise wages for its workers, it paid a large dividend of $600,000 to its stockholders. This, the Times suggested, showed that the company valued stockholders over workers and their families.
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4. After President Grover Cleveland called the army to Chicago to put down the strike in July 1894, violence erupted. Twenty-five workers were killed, and more than sixty wounded. Who did the Chicago newspapers blame for the carnage?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is A. In keeping with its anti-union attitude, the Chicago Tribune placed blame for the July bloodshed on the strikers themselves. The Chicago Times continued its sympathetic coverage of the strike and blamed the fighting on the U.S. troops.
Incorrect. The correct answer is A. In keeping with its anti-union attitude, the Chicago Tribune placed blame for the July bloodshed on the strikers themselves. The Chicago Times continued its sympathetic coverage of the strike and blamed the fighting on the U.S. troops.
Question
5. A conflict between which of the following two groups was at the heart of the Pullman strike of 1894 and the press’s coverage of that event?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is C. A conflict between workers and big business was at the heart of the Pullman strike of 1894. Workers were asking for higher wages for their work, and for the right to unionize; George Pullman and his Pullman Car Company were fighting to keep the largest share of their profits and to stop union organizing among Pullman workers. The Chicago Tribune was framing its coverage from the perspective of the Pullman Company, while the Chicago Times was framing its coverage from the perspective of the railroad workers. Nellie Bly’s article also illustrates that the strike was a conflict between workers and big business.
Incorrect. The correct answer is C. A conflict between workers and big business was at the heart of the Pullman strike of 1894. Workers were asking for higher wages for their work, and for the right to unionize; George Pullman and his Pullman Car Company were fighting to keep the largest share of their profits and to stop union organizing among Pullman workers. The Chicago Tribune was framing its coverage from the perspective of the Pullman Company, while the Chicago Times was framing its coverage from the perspective of the railroad workers. Nellie Bly’s article also illustrates that the strike was a conflict between workers and big business.
Understanding the American Promise 3ePrinted Page 565