By focusing on the violent events of the Pullman Strike, Jacobs's children's book tells the story of the workers' rights movement of the late nineteenth century. Through text and photos, the book, which is part of the Spotlight on American History series, describes the conflict, the people, and the goals of Pullman's railroad monopoly, Eugene Debs, the US government, and the railroad labor union. ( )

The Pullman Strick of 1894: Turning Point for American Labor discusses the Industrial Revolution that took over the United States in the nineteenth century that changed the way that the United States operated. Factories began to take over, and small towns transformed into growing cities. The railroads were a major aspect of this transformation, and became a huge factor in American industry. The book goes into discussing the people that worked on these railroads, and how they lived in towns that were run by the railroad companies. They worked long, difficult hours, and were not paid enough by the railroad moguls. After the depression of 1893, these railroad workers were paid even less, so that the stockholders in the Pullman Railroad Company were still able to be paid. The book describes how the railroad workers were either laid off, or their pay was drastically cut. However, the cost of living did not decrease, and people could not afford to pay their rent or buy groceries. As a result, the workers decided to band together and strike against the rail company, and began their strike in May of 1894. The book describes how the workers came together against George Pullman, and how the government stepped in with an injunction against the strikers in July of 1894. Federal troops were stepping in against the workers. Eventually, the strikers were forced to disband and return to work. This ability of the President to disband a strike remained the precedent until 1914, when Congress affirmed the right of workers to form unions.

This book is an interesting look at the many problems that workers faced as the United States continued to industrialize. Workers were often treated poorly, and were not given fair wages or decent working conditions. While the Pullman strike failed, it began to raise awareness about the rights of workers and the power of unions. This book contains a number of illustrations, but is meant more for students in grades 4 through 6. This book would be a great additional resource for classes studying labor unrest in the early 20th century, and those interested in the effect of unions and governmental power. ( )

A book about the Industrial Revolution of how it started, the pros and cons and the strike of American workers. This is a good book for students who are learning about the Industrial Revolution. This book is an easy read and has very capturing photographs throughout. ( )