The True Story Behind ‘The Gilded Age’s Labor Union Strike

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Gilded Age Season 2.

The Big Picture

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• The Gilded Age incorporates history, but takes creative liberties with history, incorporating both real and fictional characters to shape its narrative in ways that diverge from factual events.
• The show’s portrayal of the steelworkers’ strike draws inspiration from the Homestead Strike, but the timeline and certain details differ between the two. The series puts its own twist on the strike, making George Russell a more sympathetic character as he navigates negotiations with the union leader.
• While The Gilded Age may not accurately depict the Homestead Strike, it examines the broader themes of workers’ rights during the time period.

The Gilded Age often works history into the series, but some examples are more accurate than others. While several characters in the show are based on real people, others are entirely fictional. This variation allows The Gilded Age freedom to diverge from history in certain instances, and the show is better for it. Not being a documentary, the series can alter history to fit its narrative when necessary and does so on several occasions. The perfect example is the much-loved Russell family, who are instrumental in society, though they are not historical figures. The newly wealthy Russells take after several families from the time period who found themselves in similar situations. George Russell (Morgan Spector) is inspired by the more general concept of robber barons — not directly correlating to any one person, but being a combination of them. Meanwhile, his wife, Bertha (Carrie Coon), fills the specific role of Alva Vanderbilt, especially when it comes to Season 2’s opera war. With the addition of fictionalized characters, the history of the show gets more convoluted. As the Russells’ plot moves outside the societal conflict, this is plainer than ever.

Season 2 introduces a plot centering on George’s business, specifically, the steelworkers in Pittsburgh going on strike. Strikes were common during this era, as the country experienced another wave of industrialization. Though the strike is far from the show’s first aspect of history, this one is somewhat different. The Gilded Age usually addresses history with a clear dedication to accuracy, as it did with Emily Warren Roebling’s story, but the strike is another matter.

This plot doesn’t follow a single event exactly, although workers indeed fought for eight-hour work days at that time, yet series creator Julian Fellowes has stated that this plot is inspired by the Homestead Strike. However, this violent strike occurred in 1892, rather than 1883 like the show. The conflict between the steelworkers in Homestead, Pennsylvania, and Andrew Carnegie turned into a bloody battle, with many casualties that lost the union public support. The story in The Gilded Age takes its own path, making George a more sympathetic character as he attempts to negotiate with the union leader Bill Henderson (Darren Goldstein), showing that the show is unafraid to rewrite history on occasion.

How Does ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2 Deal With the Strike?

The Gilded Age builds the strike slowly, taking an unusual approach to the story. In stories surrounding strikes, the greedy company is almost always the villain. Yet, The Gilded Age tells this story from George Russell’s perspective. George is approached by others dealing with similar issues as the conflict mounts. With strikes becoming more common, the situation at George’s steel mill grows dire. As a shrewd businessman, George is quick to take action, attempting to manipulate a favorable outcome for his company by meeting Bill Henderson, leader of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers. While Russell attempts to buy him off by offering him a higher position, Henderson uses the time to address the worker’s issues. They work twelve-hour days, get too little pay, and deal with unsafe conditions. What seems like reasonable requests to the modern audience were not widely recognized at the time, so Russell refuses to budge. The conflict escalates as Henderson and the workers reject Russell’s minor concessions, holding out for their demands of eight-hour work days and preparing to die for their cause. As the papers portray Russell unflatteringly, he becomes fed up, though in conversation with his colleagues, George expresses that he doesn’t see why allowing their request is so bad.

Before taking action, Russell travels to Pittsburgh to meet with Henderson one last time in an attempt to make a deal, though his position has not changed. He refuses to pay above the market price, but Russell claims he would negotiate on welfare. However, his last effort to avoid violence fails as Henderson remains steadfast in his demands, and Russell is equally determined not to give in. With the Governor’s Militia ready, Russell and his colleagues attempt to break the strike by bringing in new workers, but the union members block the entrance. Upon hearing the warning shots, Russell rushes out to see what is happening. Though the moment is tense with others ready to fire, Russell finds sympathy in his heart, telling the Militia to stand down, and seemingly conceding to the strikers. This doesn’t strictly settle the strike, as no deal has been made, but it’s certainly a twist for the business-minded George.

How Does ‘The Gilded Age’s Strike Resemble Real History?

There are more than a few similarities between the steelworker’s strike in The Gilded Age and the historic Homestead Strike, as Julian Fellowes suggests, although the two events aren’t exactly the same. On the surface, they may appear to be in two different locations, as the show never mentions Homestead, but this isn’t the case. Homestead is a town in the Pittsburgh area. The Gilded Age doesn’t use the exact name, but this certainly ties the two together. While this confirms little by itself, it does hint at the connection between fiction and reality — and the location is just one of several similarities.

More directly, the Homestead Strike was a confrontation between robber baron Andrew Carnegie, and the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, the same organization Russell contends with in The Gilded Age. This detail shows the series’ usual attention to history as it adapts the event. No person named Henderson is tied to the strike or the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, but the character’s cause is real.

Even George Russell’s sympathy for the workers seems to be more than just an effort to keep him likable. Andrew Carnegie was known to have pro-labor leanings, at least before the Homestead Strike. This is reflected in George, although in neither fiction nor reality did it prevent the fight. George Russell not only doubts his cause privately but is willing to look for safer practices and shows concern when he learns that Henderson’s oldest son works and the rest of the children don’t attend school. Certainly, this shows Russell to be sympathetic with the worker’s cause, though unwilling to risk his own profits until it escalates into violence. The two strikes are similar in the details, but the progression is very different, making the history work for The Gilded Age‘s purpose.

How Does ‘The Gilded Age’ Change the Story?

While the inspiration is clear, The Gilded Age didn’t put George in the middle of the Homestead Strike as it does with Bertha and the opera war. With many significant differences, the strike in the show is something new. The Homestead Strike occurred in 1892, roughly ten years after The Gilded Age‘s story is set, but that is a minor detail. Unlike Russell, Carnegie didn’t handle the situation himself. Putting Henry Frick in charge of the facility, he told Frick to do whatever he needed to before taking a trip to Scotland during the confrontation. This hands-off approach wouldn’t work for the show, as Russell’s involvement is why this plot is relevant. It fits with George’s characterization to handle the problem personally and allows him to show off the business skills that earned his family’s fortune.

Yet the two strikes grow further apart with their reasoning. The Homestead Strike was a reaction to severe wage cuts that left poor workers struggling. When the demand for steel dropped, the workers experienced a drop in their already low earnings, causing them to take action. Meanwhile, The Gilded Age‘s strikers focused on improving the system with better pay, fewer hours, and safer conditions. Certainly, these things were problems, and many different strikes dealt with them, but the Homestead Strike focused on pay. The slogan used in the show, “Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, and eight hours for what you will,” was used in the movement for better hours during the 1880s but was not integral to the Homestead Strike.

The biggest difference between the show and real events is the outcome. Where George Russell stopped the violence after only two warning shots, protecting the workers, the same cannot be said about the Homestead Strike. When the company’s hired guns from the Pinkerton Detective Agency showed up to escort the scabs inside, the strike turned violent. With gunfire from both sides, nearly a dozen lost their lives in the twelve-hour battle. Spectators gathered to watch as the private army and thousands of strikers fought. Four times, the Pinkertons tried to surrender, only to be shot down. But that was only the beginning. After the bloodshed, the Governor of Pennsylvania sent 8,500 troops to Homestead, and the violence continued for five months, especially against the black steelworkers who continued to work after being denied by the union. When the union was crushed, the strike’s leaders were charged with murder, and Carnegie’s business returned to normal as he cut wages, demanded 12-hour workdays, and removed jobs. After allowing these actions in Homestead, Carnegie was seen as a hypocrite and highly criticized despite his win.

The Gilded Age‘s strike is far less violent, and George Russell emerges from it looking like a hero — except in the eyes of his colleagues, who are likely to lose some money. But as the only leading character in the conflict, the show couldn’t turn him into the villain. The Gilded Age rewrites the Homestead Strike to fit the story. Though few events are historically accurate, the growing issue of workers’ rights was very real during this time. While not a true account of the Homestead Strike specifically, The Gilded Age investigates the larger issues from the period through this plot, showing that, if not strictly accurate, they did use the sentiment.

The Gilded Age Season 2 airs on Sunday nights on HBO and is available to stream on Max.

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