Capitalism v Democracy: Lessons from the Pullman Experiment
Cheryl Hudson, Lecturer in U.S. Political History, University of Liverpool
The “model” town of Pullman, Illinois (1880-1897) proffered a possible solution to growing industrial conflict yet ironically produced the first truly national strike in American history. This talk reassesses local and federal responses to the strike, arguing that the creation of modern “progressive” state institutions in the early twentieth century were facilitated not by the strength or success of cooperative working-class organizations, but by their defeat and failure. The expanding administrative state sealed the fates of both Pullman’s and the union’s versions of the future, configuring a new relationship between democracy and capitalism for the twentieth century.
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This event is free, but all participants must register in advance. Space is limited, so please do not request a paper unless you plan to attend.
Register and Request PaperAbout the History of Capitalism Seminar Series
This seminar is a forum for works-in-progress in the history of capitalism, broadly defined. We seek proposals from scholars at all levels. These proposals may consider a variety of subjects, including the history of race and racism, gender and feminist studies, intellectual history, political history, legal history, business history, the history of finance, labor history, cultural history, urban history, and agricultural history. The seminar’s sponsors are the history departments of Loyola University Chicago, Illinois State University, and the Karla Scherer Center at the University of Chicago.