Background
George Mortimer Pullman was an influential industrialist of the 19th century and
the founder of the Pullman Palace Car Company. His innovations brought comfort
and luxury to railroad travel in the 1800’s with the introduction of sleeping
cars, dining cars, and parlor cars. Like other industrialists of the period Pullman
built a company town near his factory to accommodate his workers’ housing
needs. He advertised it as a model community which offered his workers modern
amenities in a beautiful setting. By 1890, the Pullman Palace Car Company was
operating 2,135 railroad cars on approximately 160,000 miles of track in the United
States with a work force of 12,367 employees. Unfortunately, the economic panic
and depression of 1893 interrupted Pullman’s ambitions when his workers
initiated a strike demanding higher wages and better working conditions. This
labor conflict grew into a national crisis causing violence, destruction of property,
and even death for several strikers.
Essential Question
How did George Mortimer Pullman impact the railroad industry, labor, and American
life in the 19th century?
Objectives
- Students will examine primary sources to understand
Pullman’s contributions to the railroad industry
in the 19th century.
- Students will identify the benefits and costs of
living in Pullman’s company town.
- Students will examine primary sources in order
to understand the causes of the Pullman Strike of
1894.
- Students will read the testimony of participants
in the Pullman Strike to determine the strike’s
impact on railroad workers and organized labor.
Motivation
To identify the technological innovations of the 19th century and understand
George Pullman’s role in a larger historical context, one would have to
look no further than the Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893. This
world’s fair provided an opportunity for people in the United States and
the world to view the latest developments in agriculture, horticulture, art,
electricity, machinery, and transportation. The fair lasted approximately six
months and was visited by over 27,000,000 people from all corners of the world.
According to Professor Paul Barrett from the Illinois Institute of Technology,
"A century ago, every major city aspired to hold a major exposition-indeed
every sizeable town hoped to be the scene of a county fair. But Chicago had
special reasons to pursue the honor. Chicago was the economic center of the
grain, meat and lumber trades of the west… The nation’s railroads
had centered on Chicago since the 1850’s, and by 1890 Chicago was the
nation’s second steel-making center and was a major player in virtually
every phase of modern industry." Teachers can use the following sites
in order to build student interest in the significant changes that occurred
in the area of technology during the 19th century with a particular focus on
Chicago.
Site map of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago 1893
http://www.chicagohs.org/history/expo/map.html
Notable exhibits from the World’s Columbian Exposition
http://users.vnet.net/schulman/Columbian/exhibits.html#TOP
http://users.vnet.net/schulman/Columbian/columbian.html
A Digital Archive of American Architecture: Exposition Photographs
http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/fa267/1893fair.html
The Transportation Building at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893
was designed by Louis Sullivan. It housed the "Santa Maria," a Pullman
railroad car that cost more than $38,000 to build.
http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~hius202/images/lecture04/
transpexteriorexpo.html
Activity One: The Pullman Cars
ISomeone once said that "necessity is the mother of invention."
That is perhaps true in the case of George Pullman who, having made a long uncomfortable
railroad journey earlier in his life, determined that railroads needed to provide
more comfort and luxury for their passengers. Pullman improved the existing
sleeping car and continued to explore other opportunities to make railroad travel
a unique experience for those who could afford it. Pullman’s original
design, appropriately named "The Pioneer" was not immediately successful.
The model was too wide for the existing platforms and bridges of the time and
railroad companies did not want to make costly adjustments to accommodate it.
However, after the assassination of President Lincoln, a Pullman Sleeping Car
was hired to transport his body from Washington, D.C. to Springfield, Illinois.
Immediately, the railroad company responded by making necessary adjustments
to its tracks and platforms. Other railroad companies followed suit so as not
to miss out on the opportunity to carry the now famous Pullman car on their
tracks. This was the break that Pullman needed to introduce his sleeping car
to the American public.
These readings should be done as a homework assignment to prepare for class
discussion. The images can also be assigned or used in class in a group activity.
Documents:
Photograph of Pullman’s first sleeping car, "The Pioneer" built
in 1863.
Source: Chicago Historical Society
http://www.chicagohs.org/history/pullman/gif/01sleep.jpg
Image of Lincoln’s Funeral Car.
Source: The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
http://www.mrlincolnandnewyork.org/upload/funeral_car_train_large.jpg
Photograph of Pullman’s Palace Car.
Source: Clark University
http://www.clarku.edu/activelearning/images/history/richter/
pullmancarA_230.gif
Article: Report of June 18, 1869, published in June 28, 1869 - Newspaper of
the George Mortimer Pullman Excursion - Title: "Across The Continent"
Source: The New York Times
http://cprr.org/Museum/Newspapers/New_York_Times/1869-06-28.html
The "Transcontinental"
A newspaper published daily by W.R. Steele aboard the Pullman Hotel Express,
an eight-car train built by the Pullman Company to take passengers from Boston
to San Francisco.
Source: Central Pacific Railroad Museum
http://cprr.org/Museum/Trans-Continental/_trans-continental-04.html
Questions for Students:
- How important was railroad travel to Americans in the 19th century?
- What changes did Pullman make to improve travel on the rails?
- Describe the parlor cars that Pullman designed.
- Who do you think benefited from Pullman’s innovations? Who do you
think was excluded from these opportunities?
- What evidence is there in the New York Times article to indicate that Pullman
was a shrewd businessman?
- How does the reporter react to his experience in the Pullman sleeping car
and dining car?
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