The Homestead Strike
On July 6, 1892, three hundred armed Pinkerton agents arrived by boat in Homestead, Pennsylvania to retake the Carnegie Steelworks from the companys striking workers. As the agents tried to disembark, shots rang out and a violent skirmish began. The confrontation at Homestead was a turning point in the history of American unionism, beginning a rapid process of decline for Americas steel unions that lasted until the Great Depression.
Examining the strikes origins, events, and legacy, The Homestead Strike illuminates the tense relationship between labor, capital, and government in the pivotal moment between Reconstruction and the Progressive Era. In a concise narrative, bolstered by statements from steelworkers, court testimony, and excerpts from Carnegies writings, Paul Kahan introduces students to one of the most dramatic and influential episodes in the history of American labor.
Paul Kahan teaches history at Ohlone College in Fremont, California. For more information, visit his website at www.paulkahan.com.
Critical Moments in American History
Edited by William Thomas Allison
The Battle of the Greasy Grass/Little Bighorn
Custers Last Stand in Memory, History, and Popular Culture
Debra Buchholtz
The Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Political Trauma and American Memory
Alice L. George
Freedom to Serve
Truman, Civil Rights, and Executive Order 9981
Jon E. Taylor
The Battles of Kings Mountain and Cowpens
The American Revolution in the Southern Backcountry
Melissa Walker
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Threshold of Nuclear War
Alice L. George
The Nativist Movement in America
Religious Conflict in the 19th Century
Katie Oxx
The 1980 Presidential Election
Ronald Reagan and the Shaping of the American Conservative Movement
Jeffrey D. Howison
The Fort Pillow Massacre
North, South, and the Status of African Americans in the Civil War Era
Bruce Tap
The Louisiana Purchase
A Global Context
Robert D. Bush
From Selma to Montgomery
The Long March to Freedom
Barbara Harris Combs
The Homestead Strike
Labor, Violence, and American Industry
Paul Kahan
First published 2014
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
2014 Taylor & Francis
The right of Paul Kahan to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Kahan, Paul.
The Homestead Strike: labor, violence, and American industry/Paul E. Kahan.
pages cm.(Critical moments in American history)
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Homestead Strike, Homestead, Pa., 1892. 2. Carnegie, Andrew, 18351919. 3. Carnegie Steel CompanyHistory. 4. Steel industry and tradePennsylvaniaHistory19th century. 5. Iron and steel workersPennsylvaniaHistory19th century. 6. Working classPennsylvaniaHistory19th century. I. Title.
HD5325.I51892 .K34 2013
331.8928691420974885dc23
2013026208
ISBN: 978-0-415-53193-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-53194-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-08147-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo and Helvetica Neue
by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK
Contents
Welcome to the Routledge Critical Moments in American History series. The purpose of this new series is to give students a window into the historians craft through concise, readable books by leading scholars, who bring together the best scholarship and engaging primary sources to explore a critical moment in the American past. In discovering the principal points of the story in these books, gaining a sense of historiography, following a fresh trail of primary documents, and exploring suggested readings, students can then set out on their own journey, to debate the ideas presented, interpret primary sources, and reach their own conclusionsjust like the historian.
A critical moment in history can be a range of thingsa pivotal year, the pinnacle of a movement or trend, or an important event such as the passage of a piece of legislation, an election, a court decision, a battle. It can be social, cultural, political, or economic. It can be heroic or tragic. Whatever they are, such moments are by definition game changers, momentous changes in the pattern of the American fabric, paradigm shifts in the American experience. Many of the critical moments explored in this series are familiar; some less so.
There is no ultimate list of critical moments in American history any group of students, historians, or other scholars may come up with a different catalog of topics. These differences of view, however, are what make history itself and the study of history so important and so fascinating. Therein can be found the utility of historical inquiryto explore, to challenge, to understand, and to realize the legacy of the past through its influence on the present. It is the hope of this series to help students realize this intrinsic value of our past and of studying our past.
William Thomas Allison
Georgia Southern University
Like all writers, I accrued a great many debts in writing this book. While I cannot possibly thank everyone who contributed to The Homestead Strike: Labor, Violence, and American Industry, there are some people who deserve recognition. First, I would like to thank Ron Baraff, Director of Museum Collections and Archives at the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area. Rons incomparable knowledge of Rivers of Steels resources and his willingness to read portions of the manuscript assisted in making Homestead the best book possible. Similarly, I want to thank Julie Ludwig, Associate Archivist at the Frick Collection and Frick Art Reference Library. With only the vaguest of instructions, Julie was able to track down the perfect image for inclusion in Homestead. People such as Ron and Julie make books such as The Homestead Strike possible!
In addition, I want to thank my wife Jennifer and my son Alec, both of whom willingly picked up the slack around the house so that I could finish writing this book. Amazingly, my wife was willing to do so despite being pregnant; our daughter, Zoe Kahan, was born while I was in the midst of revising the manuscript. I dedicate The Homestead Strike: Labor, Violence, and American Industry to all of them.
| 1835: November 25 | Andrew Carnegie is born. |
![Paul Kahan - Cooking for Good Times: Super Delicious, Super Simple [A Cookbook]](/uploads/posts/book/150685/thumbs/paul-kahan-cooking-for-good-times-super.jpg)
