Pullman Town Analysis

Imagine a beautiful town full of churches, libraries, theaters and other great amenities. This picture perfect advertisement of Pullman Town was far from the truth, and was actually the definition of an un-American lifestyle. Pullman Town, was created by George Pullman and was a “gift” to his workers to give them a better lifestyle than what they could have provided for themselves. However what is unknown is that Pullman benefited the most from this town, generating a 6% yearly profit on the rents he charged his residents. Not only that, but he also forced and pressured his workers to live in Pullman, firing those who decided not to live there. Although management could argue that workers were paying 3/5 the rent of surrounding neighborhoods …show more content…
Pullman also hired spies to tell him about what was going on in town, which was an utter invasion of privacy. Pullman Town also did not allow newspapers or any sort of publication that was not under the direct influence of the Pullman Company. This decreased the knowledge of his workers, restricted their right to freedom of press, and even their relationship with anything besides Pullman and his company. This ensured they were only immersed in all things Pullman. One resident of Pullman said, “About the only difference between slavery at Pullman and what they did down in the South, is that there the owners took care of the slaves when they were sick, and here they don’t.” This paints the perfect picture of how workers felt being trapped in Pullman. Though it was horrid, not one person out of a population of eight thousand people would dare to speak out about their feelings for the town because they knew that the consequences were dreadful. No one was allowed to start a business in Pullman, especially one that was charity-orientated because Pullman did not want the impression of poverty existing there, even though poverty filled the walls of the Pullman Town