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Soldiers in Gary during Steel Strike, 1919
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Soldiers parade through Gary, Indiana, while strikers look on. The steel industry's notoriously long hours and the antiunion policies of judge Elbert Gary, chairman of U.S. Steel's board of directors and the town's namesake, helped make the strike long and bitter. The call to strike on September 22 by union leadership charged "IRON AND STEEL WORKERS! A historic decision confronts us. If we will but stand together now like men our demands will soon be granted and a golden era of prosperity will open for us in the steel industry. But if we falter and fail to act this great effort will be lost, and we will sink back into a miserable and hopeless serfdom. The welfare of our wives and children is at stake. Now is the time to insist upon our rights as human beings."
The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago © 2005 Chicago Historical Society.
The Encyclopedia of Chicago © 2004 The Newberry Library. All Rights Reserved. Portions are copyrighted by other institutions and individuals. Additional information on copyright and permissions.
The Encyclopedia of Chicago © 2004 The Newberry Library. All Rights Reserved. Portions are copyrighted by other institutions and individuals. Additional information on copyright and permissions.