Cuba Libre: The Revolution of 1895

blindgoose

Prologue: El Partido Revolucionario Cubano

”Pensé en el pobre artillero
Que está en la tumba, callado:
Pensé en mi padre, el soldado:
Pensé en mi padre, el obrero.”
-José Martí, Versos Sencillos​

January 3, 1892; Cayo Hueso, La Florida

José Martí, the Cuban poet and revolutionary, sat quietly in a corner of the Club San Carlos on an island poorly translated by Americans as “Key West”. The Spanish name, “Cayo Hueso”, literally translated to “Bone Island”; a fitting place for a meeting which would serve as the launchpad of a new Cuban Revolution.

The Ten Years War had taught the revolutionaries that the key to success was unity and the West. Martí hoped that this little informal meeting would help him achieve the first. Seated at the table with him were José Francisco Lamadrid, José Dolores Poyo, and Colonel Frenando Figueredo Socarrás. Each man was dressed in the finery of the exiled aristocracy of the revolution, clothing which didn’t quite match the tone of their conversation.

Martí began the informal meeting, “We are all united in our vision of a free Cuba. We all believe in the ideals of liberty and the need for a new order in Latin America, one which will unite these nations often in dispute in order to oppose the undue influence of those who would seek to extend our colonial servitude, whether implicitly or explicitly. Yet how are we to oppose the colonial system and its functionaries without the same unity of purpose that they have? We must establish an organization to bring together all those who would seek to throw off the shackles of servitude in Cuba and create a democratic republic in which we shall be truly represented.”

The other men at the table nodded in agreement. Socarrás stated simply, “A Cuban Revolutionary Party.” And Martí joined in the nodding. “It is political unity which we lacked in the Ten Years War,” he said “but we have learned and this time, we shall be united towards one purpose, one cause. Freedom.”

April 10, 1892; La Ciudad de Nueva York

The crowd was larger than anticipated. Martí and his partners had been in contact with as many of the various Cuban exile groups as they could find and had set down the basic objectives for this new party on January 5. Now came the time for the official creation of an umbrella organization for all Cuban patriots, rebels, and exiles. A group to raise funds for a new revolution, for support for the Mambises and to show the military leaders of the Ten Years War that the politicians had learned and the revolutionary cause finally had unity. Máximo Gómez Báez, the legendary leader of the Ten Years War, and Antonio Maceo y Grajales, the Bronze Titan, had both sent representatives to the founding meeting of the PRC and were in full support of this attempt at unity.

Martí took to the podium and began to speak. “Revolucionarios! Today is a bright day in the history of Cuba! A history which shall be written in the years to come by Cubans and by no colonial oppressor or foreign influence! Independence is what we want, freedom is what we need, war we shall have!”

The crowd was clamoring for more, each line receiving thunderous applause and supportive cries. “We know” he continued “that the Spanish cannot be dealt with peacefully or diplomatically. We have put trust in their supposed honor before and what did the Pact of Zanjon do but expose their honor for what it was, the decaying remains of a long dead empire and an oppressive government. We cannot and shall not negotiate. When the time is ripe, we shall revolt once more, with the knowledge that the only possible outcomes are total victory, or death. We who are here today, ask of ourselves and all Cubans, that we support the cause of independence with funding and arms. We shall not rest until our people are free. CUBA LIBRE!”

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This is my first attempt at writing a timeline. The goal of this timeline is a successful 1895 Revolution without US intervention and the Spanish-American War. I hope you all enjoy it and am anxious to see your comments.
 
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blindgoose

As far as fully fleshed out chapters go, what's posted is what I have right now. I'm a college student, cut me some slack. :p I can tell you that what my co-author and I have planned so far will distinctly alter the role of the United States in the America's and the way the world interacts with Latin America. As a teaser, I will leave you with the fact that Martí is credited as being one of the first proponents of an identity which most people from central and south america use to refer to themselves currently, latinoamericano/a. As well, Martí lives quite a bit longer in this TL. Let that stew for a bit. :)
 

blindgoose

As a Cuban, the answer to that question is an emphatic HELL FUCKING NO. Keith and Preston shan't having but perhaps the slightest passing reference. Yours is an American lake. Mine shall be quite the opposite. Once I get the next chapter written and the co-author of this gets done with our first American post you will begin to realize just how huge an impact Martí not dieing in 1895 will have on the world.
 

blindgoose

Chapter I: La Guerra del 95

”¿Del tirano? Del tirano
Di todo, ¡di más! ; y clava
Con furia de mano esclava
Sobre su oprobio al tirano.”
-José Martí, Versos Sencillos​

On December 25, 1894, three ships set out for Cuba from Fernandina Beach, Florida. The ships were loaded with soldiers, weapons, and supplies and had all[1] reached Cuba by mid-January of 1895. The revolution started barely a month later on February 24 with the Grito de Baire and co-ordinated uprisings all across the island. In Santiago de Cuba province where revolutionary sentiment was highest, almost every major city was successfully taken by the rebels, from Alto Songo to Santiago and every letter in between. In the central and western parts of the island success was much harder to come by. The revolts in Ibarra, Jaguey Grande and Aguada failed mostly due to poor planning and in Havana, the rebels fought valiantly against Royal forces but suffered a crushing defeat after two days of fighting[2].

Martí, undeterred by the mixed success of the Grito de Baire, issued the Proclamation of Montecristi on March 25 which outlined his vision for Cuba’s War for Independence. The Proclamation stated that blacks and whites should fight side by side against the Royalists and that the participation of all blacks was crucial to the final victory. It also stated that Spaniards who did not object to the war should be spared, private rural properties should not be damaged and the revolution should bring new economic life to Cuba; the second being very important after the appointment of General Valeriano Weyler Nicolau as head of Royal forces. The Proclamation was followed up by landings at Baracoar and Playitas on April 1st and 11th respectively, bringing the main group of officers and leaders of the revolutionaries to the island including Martí, Maceo and Máximo Gomez.

The rebel leaders began to take control of the revolution after their arrival and Martí fought in the first skirmish of the revolution at the Battle of Dos Ríos near Palma Soriano. Despite being wounded[3], he rallied his routing troops into an orderly retreat, disappearing into the jungles to rest and recuperate. While Martí was recovering, Máximo Gomez and Antonio Maceo took the war to the rest of Santiago de Cuba, largely liberating the province from Royalist forces by early-June and engulfing Puerto Príncipe province in war by the end of June. Moving further West into Santa Clara province, Gomez and Maceo were met by many veterans of the Ten Years War as well as Polish Internationalist General Carlos Roloff and Serafín Sánchez, only adding to the strength and experience of the rebel forces.

Having recovered from his wound by mid-September, Martí was able to crush an attempt by some within the movement to create a civilian government before the war had been won[4], persuading all the officers and many upper-class officials that a military junta was necessary to maintain the focus on the war and to pursue an end to the war as quickly as possible. After defeating the pockets of resistance left in Santiago de Cuba and Puerto Príncipe, Martí led his forces west to bring to bear the full force of the revolution(outnumbered about 9-to-1 at this point by regular and irregular Royalist forces). After consolidating their forces in Santa Clara, the Revolutionaries marched west towards Matanzas, outmaneuvering the Spanish and defeating Spanish General Arsenio Martínez Campos at Peralejo, even managing to kill his most trusted general.

After the defeat at Peralejo, General Campos fell back on his strategy from the Ten Years War, the “troche”. The strategy essentially consisted of one large 80km defensive line separating east from west using fortified strongholds at the best crossing points and large hedges of barbed wire in between and supported by a railroad. For much of the end of October the rebels conducted raids and scouting along the line to attempt to find a weak point. On October 22nd a cavalry campaign successfully broke through the “trocha” near Baraguá and invaded the west reaching the westernmost tip of the island on January 22nd, 1896. General Campos was fired for his incompetency and General Valeriano Weyler Nicolau was appointed to replace him.

General Weyler was the straw that broke the camels back for the Royalist cause. His policies of periodic executions, mass exile, and the burning of farms and crops endeared the rural populace to the revolutionaries and forced many hesitant land owners to flock to the revolutionary cause. Although the rebel forces grew stronger day by day, they were unable to capitalize on their successful invasion of the west, losing in two attempts to take Havana and force an end to the war. Luckily for them, on October 21, 1896, General Weyler ordered that everyone in the countryside report to the nearest city within 8 days forcing those who obeyed to abandon their livelihoods for squalor conditions in cities already filled to the brim with refugees. Many just ignored the order or left their farms to join the rebels. One by one the Royalist cities fell to revolts as the people stuffed into them slowly died from the conditions within.

On November 3rd the rebels led by Antonio Maceo defeated a sortie by Spanish forces under General Weyler outside Havana. A short siege was laid to the city and on November 12th the populace within rose up in revolt, allowing the rebels in and butchering the Spanish forces in the process. General Weyler was hung from a tree outside his luxurious residence within the city before rebel leaders could take him prisoner. Martí arrived on November 27th and proudly proclaimed the Republic of Cuba. One month later recognition arrived from Great Britain[5] and shortly thereafter France, quite possibly their only supporters amongst the Great Powers, and on February 21st negotiators arrived with terms for peace. Over the three months since the declaration of the Republic, the Spanish had attempted five times to retake Havana without success.

Representatives from the belligerents met in Lisbon and agreed to a treaty which would recognize the independent Republic of Cuba, issue an official apology for the illegal acts of General Weyler, and remove all Spanish personnel from the island within one month of the signing of the treaty. On March 16, 1897 the Generals of the Liberation Army of Cuba met for the last time as the governing body of the revolution and unanimously approved the treaty. Cuba was free, but where would her new leaders take her?

[1] Only one ship made it to Cuba in OTL.
[2] The Havana rising is much more successful than in OTL where it was crushed before it even got off the ground.
[3] He was killed in this battle in OTL.
[4] In September of 1895 the Jimaguayu Constitution was passed in OTL leading to civilian oversight of the Revolutionary Forces and the implementation of some racist decisions concerning command of the forces made by the wealthy creole land owners who dominated it.
[5] In OTL they even escorted a couple resupply missions for the rebels.

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I switched up the style as I'm trying to figure out what exactly I feel comfortable with. As always, questions and comments are more than welcome. And to mowque, I probably should have indicated somehow that the anger in that last post was feigned and meant in jest. I sent you a pm.
 

blindgoose

That's the plan. But like I've said, most of the future is just a rough mental outline. Both of these posts were written off the cuff in about ten to fifteen minutes each. I'm rather spontaneous when it comes to my writing and apart for some minor grammatical and spelling fixes, what you see is essentially my first and final draft.
 

mowque

Banned
blindgoose said:
That's the plan. But like I've said, most of the future is just a rough mental outline. Both of these posts were written off the cuff in about ten to fifteen minutes each. I'm rather spontaneous when it comes to my writing and apart for some minor grammatical and spelling fixes, what you see is essentially my first and final draft.
Click to expand...

I'd be curious to see your opinion of my mini-TL Untied Fruit, since your from the area.
 

blindgoose

And now, a short trip to the Pacific!

Chapter II: La Revolución Filipina

”We cannot free ourselves unless we move forward, united in a single desire.”
-Emilio Aguinaldo, Rebel Leader of Cavite​

In August of 1896, Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines discovered a secret anti-colonial society called Katipunan. The group had been gathering arms and funds for a revolution against Spanish colonial authority, inspired by the successes of the ongoing revolution in Cuba. The colonial authorities did not wish to have a revolution in the Philippines as well and so attempted to take into custody Andrés Bonifacio, the President of Katipunan. When they arrived at his house, the found he had fled with his officers, in their frustration they torched his residence. In the days following their failed attempt at arresting Bonifacio rebellions sprang up all across the islands.

The first attack called for by Bonifacio was a “coordinated attack” on Manila and would set off the revolution in the surrounding provinces. Despite Bonifacio’s grand ideas for the revolution, the attack on Manila was a complete failure and arguably even a disaster; it’s only saving grace being that it helped get more people who had been on the fence to jump into their camp and fight the colonial authorities. One of the few bright spots from those early days of the revolution came from a Katipunan associated group in Cavite led by Emilio Aguinaldo. His relative success amongst a crowded field of so far failed militant leaders catapulted him into the spotlight of the revolution and brought him popularity and respect that perhaps only Bonifacio could also claim. This success would be the downfall of the revolution.

In September, after being the only revolutionary General to defeat Spanish forces in set piece battle instead of using guerilla tactics, Aguinaldo utilized his prestige to create a revolutionary government with him as its President. This would have been fine if it had not been for the fact that Bonifacio had set up a revolutionary government at the end of August with him as its President. Rival factions within the Katipunan soon began to form but they fought on, bleeding the Spanish forces and keeping them from being able to deploy full force into Cuba. As well, the escalating fighting in Cuba kept them from deploying full force in the Philippines. The Spanish populace was starting to tire of the warfare in the colonies and the Government obsession with those affairs in exclusivity to the needs of the home front.

Spanish forces steadily gained ground as the rivalry between the Magdiwang and Magdalo factions of the Katipunan began to hamper military efforts. Neither faction would agree to support the other in battle anymore; with this development it was decided that the two revolutionary governments needed to be reconciled. On December 31 they met to solve their differences but convened after only a few short days in an angry stalemate. On March 22, 1897 they reconvened in Tejeros and a call for elections for the officers of the revolutionary government was acceded to. In the ensuing politicking, Emilio Aguinaldo was elected President of the revolutionary government almost solely due to the fact that his Magdalo faction was based in the province the convention was in. Bonifacio was elected Secretary of the Interior, but he objected to these results saying that as head of the Katipunan he should also be head of the revolutionary government. In a fit of anger he declared the election results null and void and stormed out of the convention.

After returning to Naic, Bonifacio and his officers set up the Naic Military Academy to serve as an alternate government to Aguinaldo’s. Bonifacio and his brothers were attacked by Colonel Agapito Benzon who was acting on orders from Aguinaldo to arrest them for treason and sedition. In the attack, both of Bonifacio’s brothers were killed but he was only wounded and managed to escape[1]. Colonel Benzon was apprehended by Magdiwang loyalists and executed for the crimes of treason and sedition. Following that the two factions declared the other illegitimate and stated that they were the true party of the revolution. Fighting started to break out between guerilla bands loyal to the rival factions and the Spanish took their opportunity to crush the rebellion. In the Battle of Biak-na-Bato in May of 1897, Aguinaldo was killed by Spanish forces. He was followed in death by Bonifacio in July of 1897 when he was killed by Magdalo guerillas. Both factions tore themselves apart in subsequent battles over who would take on the roles of their former leaders and by November of 1897 there were only a few sparse guerilla bands roaming the jungles of the islands attacking whenever they needed to resupply.

In Spain, the victory was not felt. Members of PSOE and UGT had been agitating for months, calling strikes which then needed to be put down. Intelligence officers for the crown brought weekly reports of recruitment drives by PSOE and UGT but also by more moderate opposition parties such as the Fusionist Liberals and the Federal Republican Party. Under mounting pressure from the populace and in the midst of the crippling General Strike of 1899, the Spanish Government agreed to a treaty selling the Philippines and its subordinate divisions, the Mariana Islands and Guam, for 2.5 million German Gold Marks[2] to the German Empire. On March 15, 1899, the islands were handed over in an official ceremony and the German Protectorate of the Philippines was created.

[1] OTL he was captured and executed.
[2] About 12.5 million USD in 1899.
 

Metro

Do not think the Spaniards would have won in the Philippines. In Philippines history while Filipinos on parts of Luzon island were still fighting the Spanish there were parts of the Philippines that had already become independent separate nations.

And it seems the Katipunan was primarily Tagalog influenced which made some Visayan not rush into it.

The Visayan island of Negros became independent and became the Negros Republic.

-1898: November 6- Don Diego de los Rios, last Governor-General of Spain in the Philippines formally surrendered to Independent Republic of Negros revolutionary leaders: Gen. Aniceto Lacson - Presidente, and Gen. Juan Araneta-Secretary of War in Bacolod City. The people of Negros at last won their freedom!!!
Click to expand...
Read this on the negros-revolution:
http://www.answers.com/topic/negros-revolution

Read this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/letlet/2852007906/

-1898: November 17 - Gen. Martin Delgado proclaimed at Sta. Barbara, Iloilo the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Visayas and Mindanao.

This was later changed by the Iloilo elite to Federal Republic of the Visayas since they did not want to recognize the supremacy of Aguinaldo and the Tagalogs.

They preferred instead a federal arrangement composed of - Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao as a logical substitute because of its indigenous elements.
Click to expand...
Can continue reading at this site:
http://www.ilonggo-nation.8k.com/

There was also the Cantonal Government of Bohol which had defeated the Spaniards and had proclaimed there own government on the Visayan island of Bohol.

The island of Panay did the same but by this time most of the Visayan islands that had declared Independence were united into the Federal Republic of the Visayas.

And the Visayan are not Tagalogs. The Philippines is made up of many groups.

And do not forget that parts of Mindanao and Sulu islands were not really controlled by Spain. Spain might have signed them over to the US but they never officially controllled them.
 

blindgoose

Oh trust me I understand. I have two Philippino roommates lol. I mostly focused on the revolts in the parts that had been more under Spains control in the first place. I did mention that there were still guerillas fighting the government and that will get a more in depth look in the future.
 

blindgoose

Chapter III: El Gobierno de la República de Cuba

” Like stones rolling down hills, fair ideas reach their objectives despite all obstacles and barriers. It may be possible to speed or hinder them, but impossible to stop them.”
-José Martí, First President of the Republic of Cuba​

The Constitution of the Republic of Cuba was written over the span of two months, from April to June of 1897, and was finally approved on June 30, 1897. Martí, as the philosophical and organizing patron of the revolution served as the honorary President of the convention to draft the new constitution. The convention consisted almost entirely of Cuban Revolutionary Party members with the exception of a few Generals who had never formally joined the organization. The convention itself was an example of the type of society that the leaders of the revolution had envisioned, with prominent Afro-Cubans such as Martín Morúa Delgado becoming integral parts of the drafting.

The initial decisions on things such as form of government were not necessarily difficult points of contention with the majority opinion backing a unicameral legislature to be called the Constituent Assembly, a unitary executive to be titled President of the Republic, and an independent judiciary with total review of all constitutional matters whose members should be nominated by the President and approved of by a supermajority of 55% of the Constituent Assembly. The main sticking point was how to portion out the seats of the Constituent Assembly and the length of the terms for all federal officials. The first decision in this respect was made concerning the terms for members of the Constituent Assembly; it was decided that members would serve five year terms, only to be abrogated by impeachment, death, or the dissolution of the Assembly for new elections. Then came a decision on the judiciary; judges would serve ten year terms renewable once and necessitating the same approval process as a first term. Finally, the members of the convention decided that the President of the Republic should serve five year terms with no limits on renewal.

Once the basics of the governments functioning had been decided, Martí and his ideological supporters began to push for guarantees against racism or any exclusionary practices. Delgado and Martí jointly proposed an article which made it unconstitutional for any organization contesting elections to have exclusionary policies based on race or religion. It was further more dictated that the military should never be tainted by racism, and as such, all units were to remain integrated and all members given equal opportunities at advancement. The constitution also allowed for all literate persons twenty years-of-age and older to vote and made it an offense punishable by ten years in prison and the loss of suffrage rights to infringe a person’s right to vote.

At the end of the convention it was decided that the constitution should be approved by the populace with 55% approval necessary for implementation. On June 4 the draft constitution went to the presses and was published all across the island so that all could have a chance to thoroughly examine it. Martí, Delgado, Antonio Maceo and Máximo Gomez travelled the island campaigning for a ‘yes’ vote and extolling the virtues of the document. Various wealthy landowners who had been neutral at best during the revolution campaigned against the document based on its equal treatment of the races and its loose suffrage requirements. These landowners came together to form the Democratic Party of Cuba, taking many of their policies from the conservative southern faction of the American Democratic Party and, rumors claimed, even supporting U.S. annexation of the young republic. Martí and his supporters succeeded in their efforts, and the constitution was adopted on June 30 with 87% voting ‘yes’.

A brief period of provisional governance followed with Máximo Gomez serving as Provisional President until the first elections could be held. December 15 was declared a national holiday and the people went to the polls to choose between the Revolutionary Party candidate, José Martí, and the Democratic Party candidate, Marcos García. Although Martí himself did not engage in negative attacks of his opponent during the campaign, many of his supporters labeled García a traitor for his initial skepticism of the revolution and not using his position as Civilian Governor of Santa Clara to assist the rebels until they had already conquered nearly his entire province. The election was not even nearly close as Martí won 81% of the vote to become the First President of Cuba, being sworn in on January 1, 1898. As well, the elections to the Constituent Assembly proved a landslide for the Revolutionary Party with 78% of the vote going to them leaving the assembly composed of 246 Revolutionaries and 68 Democrats.
 

EvolvedSaurian

Just thought I'd let you know that I'm watching this. Apart from wondering what's going on in Puerto Rico, I have no comments or questions.
 
Dan1988

Dan1988

EvolvedSaurian said:
Just thought I'd let you know that I'm watching this. Apart from wondering what's going on in Puerto Rico, I have no comments or questions.
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Well, to me it's simple - prominent pro-Spanish émigrés are going to be flocking to San Juan, that's for sure. At the time, Puerto Rico was trying its best to wean itself off an over-reliance on sugar to a diversification into other crops, like coffee. In such a case, Puerto Rico is probably going to be as pro-Spanish as ever - probably boosting the credibility of people like Luis Muñoz Rivera, who fought to create an autonomous government for Puerto Rico within Spain. What would be interesting to see is if Puerto Rico continues its diversification into other crops or do the émigrés force Puerto Rico to over-rely on sugar - again - for the island's income. Not that it would mean much, mind you - compared to Cuba, Puerto Rico was a backwater.
 

blindgoose

Dan1988 said:
Well, to me it's simple - prominent pro-Spanish émigrés are going to be flocking to San Juan, that's for sure. At the time, Puerto Rico was trying its best to wean itself off an over-reliance on sugar to a diversification into other crops, like coffee. In such a case, Puerto Rico is probably going to be as pro-Spanish as ever - probably boosting the credibility of people like Luis Muñoz Rivera, who fought to create an autonomous government for Puerto Rico within Spain. What would be interesting to see is if Puerto Rico continues its diversification into other crops or do the émigrés force Puerto Rico to over-rely on sugar - again - for the island's income. Not that it would mean much, mind you - compared to Cuba, Puerto Rico was a backwater.
Click to expand...

Very good! I haven't really gotten there yet but I plan on doing a chapter about the effects of Martí's first term around 1903. It will largely focus on the Caribbean and Latin America so we'll hear from Puerto Rico then, unless of course we hear from them earlier for entirely different reasons. :rolleyes:
 

blindgoose

Chapter IV: Coxey, Pullman, and Socialists; OH MY!

” Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.”
-Abraham Lincoln, First Annual Message to Congress 1861​

Jacob Coxey was an Ohio businessman with a penchant for supporting progressive causes and the working class. On March 25, 1894, he organized an “Industrial Army” of 100 men in Massillon, Ohio and began to march them east towards Washington, D.C. in protest of Grover Cleveland’s inaction in the face of the Depression of 1893. Coxey and his “Army” supported weakening currency so that farmers could pay off their debts, government projects to build roads, railways, and other public works in order to boost employment and create a better infrastructure. The march moved through the industrial states of the Great Lakes and Northeast towards Washington, gathering new members along the way and eventually reaches 6,000 unemployed men from across the Northeast and Great Lakes. In the west, more militant and entrepreneuring supporters formed their own “Armies” in the industrial centers of the Northwest with one leader, William Hogan, and five hundred of his followers commandeering a Northern Pacific train in order to speed their progress to Washington. Hogan and his followers were brutally dispersed by federal marshalls in Forsyth, Montana and never made it to the Capitol.

hobo1.jpg

Members of Coxey’s Army​

Once Coxey’s Army reached the Capitol, Jacob Coxey read a speech on the steps of the Capitol quoted below:
“The Constitution of the United States guarantees to all citizens the right to peaceably assemble and petition for redress of grievances, and furthermore declares that the right of free speech shall not be abridged.
We stand here to-day to test these guaranties of our Constitution. We choose this place of assemblage because it is the property of the people. . . . Here rather than at any other spot upon the continent it is fitting that we should come to mourn over our dead liberties and by our protest arouse the imperiled nation to such action as shall rescue the Constitution and resurrect our liberties.
Upon these steps where we stand has been spread a carpet for the royal feet of a foreign princess, the cost of whose lavish entertainment was taken from the public Treasury without the consent or the approval of the people. Up these steps the lobbyists of trusts and corporations have passed unchallenged on their way to committee rooms, access to which we, the representatives of the toiling wealth-producers, have been denied.
We stand here to-day in behalf of millions of toilers whose petitions have been buried in committee rooms, whose prayers have been unresponded to, and whose opportunities for honest, remunerative, productive labor have been taken from them by unjust legislation, which protects idlers, speculators, and gamblers: we come to remind the Congress here assembled of the declaration of a United States Senator, "that for a quarter of a century the rich have been growing richer, the poor poorer and that by the close of the present century the middle class will have disappeared as the struggle for existence becomes fierce and relentless."

Just as Coxey was finishing his speech[1] the Army was confronted by Capitol Police, many of the leaders and workers were arrested for walking on the grass of the Capitol and spent brief times in jail. Supporters in Congress entered his speech into the Congressional record but no real action was taken on behalf of the Army. When, in May of 1894, the Pullman Strike began, Coxey and many of his followers released public statements in support of the railroad workers – many of whom had assisted William Hogan and his followers in their failed attempt to reach Washington.

On May 11, 1894, 3,000 employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company began a wildcat strike in Chicago bringing rail traffic in the west to a near dead halt. Eugene V. Debs, then leader of the American Railway Union, pressured the union to declare a boycott of Pullman cars in support of their striking brethren. He got his way and the Union declared a boycott of all trains running Pullman cars on May 31,1894.[2] Within three days over 125,000 workers had walked off the job and the railroad companies began attempting to break the strike by hiring strikebreakers. The majority of those hired were African-American, they feared that the racism prevalent in the ARU would lock them out of yet another industry and so flocked to try to break the strike. Many strikebreakers were physically intimidated and supporters of the strikers began refusing to transport goods to the railroads so that they wouldn’t be shipped on trains with Pullman cars.

1b06.jpg

Workers walking out​

Attorney General Richard Olney sought and received an injunction against the strikers on June 12 after the General Managers Association had failed to get Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld to ask the President to send in Federal troops, the Governor being a strong supporter of the unions. When Debs and the Union failed to comply with the injunction, President Cleveland sent in 12,000 Federal troops along with many US Marshalls. The strikers in Chicago and around the country were enraged that the government would support their bosses and many began destroying company property in order disrupt traffic for as long as possible. In Chicago, the Federal troops began firing on the strikers and chaos ensued. When all was said and done, twelve Federal soldiers and one Marshall had been injured while between sixty and eighty strikers lay dead and another several hundred injured.[3] On June 17, Debs and three other ARU leaders were arrested and jailed. Debs would later be sentenced to six months in prison; while there he would receive two books from Jacob Coxey which he had read after his failed movement and which contained his marginal notes, they were Das Kapital and the Manifesto of the Communist Party. Upon his release from prison in 1895, Debs would meet with Jacob Coxey[4] and form the Social Democratic Party of the United States. In 1896, their support of William Jennings Bryan’s campaign would win them mild praise from him and would later result in many left-wing Populists joining the movement. The new party would once again receive an influx of members when in 1899 a mass exodus of members from the Socialist Labor Party would join after conflicts with the SLP leader Daniel De León.

[1] OTL he did not finish the speech, however, it was later entered into the Congressional Record on May 9, 1894.
[2] Almost a full month before the OTL declaration.
[3] Accurate numbers for the strikers are not available due to no government investigation. Union and later Socialist propaganda pieces often inflated the numbers, these estimates are those of later historians.
[4] OTL Coxey was an ardent Populist, however, the marginal notes of his copies of Marx’ works have slightly moderated Deb’s views and slightly radicalized his own.
 
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