Pullman: Reasons for Formation and Failure (essay on Stanley Buder's "Pullman: An Experiment in Industrial Order and Community Planning, 1880-1930."

Like many other industrialists during the late-nineteenth century, Pullman developed a strong interest in social reform. Cities like Chicago were growing rapidly, attracting foreign immigrants and native migrants with their promise of abundant work and good wages. The enormous population boom meant opportunity for some and poverty for others. The city's working class typically lived in overcrowded, unsanitary, unappealing parts of town. Some middle- and upper-class men and women attempted to improve the lives of …

…failed. While evidence existed that a "superior" type of American working man was developed who was clean, sober, frugal, and educated, the Pullman worker was not so happy with life in the model town and the company that the impact of additional events and circumstances was to keep the work force stable and free of discontent. Works Cited Buder, Stanley. Pullman: An Experiment in Industrial Order and Community Planning, 1880-1930. New York: Oxford University Press, 1967.