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Why did Eugene V. Debs receive a prison sentence after the Pullman Strike?

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shantytown in Chicago — Pullman Strike A shantytown on the lakefront in Chicago during the Pullman Strike and general economic downturn of 1893–94.

Eugene V. Debs, president of the American Railway Union, received a prison sentence primarily for contempt of court.12

During the 1894 Pullman Strike, the federal government issued an injunction to stop the labor action, which had severely disrupted rail traffic. Debs and other union leaders were arrested for violating this court order. Although they were initially charged with conspiracy to interfere with the U.S. mail, that charge was withdrawn during their trial.132

Debs was ultimately sentenced to six months in prison by Judge Woods. His legal team, which included Clarence Darrow, appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the defendants were denied their constitutional right to a trial by jury. In the 1895 case In re Debs, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected this argument and upheld the government's use of the injunction, forcing Debs to serve his sentence.12