Final answer:
Federal troops were deployed during the Pullman Strike of 1894 to suppress the strikers, ensure the delivery of U.S. mail, and break the power of the union. The strike's termination resulted in labor losses and the blacklisting of many workers.
Step-by-step explanation:
Pullman Strike of 1894 and Federal Troops
During the Pullman Strike of 1894, federal troops were used to suppress the strikers on behalf of the owners. The strike began when George Pullman, during the depression of 1893, cut wages while maintaining high rents and prices in the company town he owned. The president of the American Railway Union, Eugene V. Debs, supported the strike by ordering railroad workers not to handle trains with Pullman cars, leading to a nationwide rail stoppage. President Grover Cleveland justified sending in federal troops to ensure the delivery of U.S. mail, which was being attached to the trains with Pullman cars. The intervention of the federal troops protected the hiring of new workers, undermining the strike efforts. The strike ended with significant losses for labor movements, with many workers being blacklisted and Debs imprisoned for interfering with mail delivery.
The government's rationale for intervention was primarily to maintain the flow of mail, but in essence, the troops' presence served to force railroad workers to comply with their employers and to break the power of the union. The aftermath saw a major defeat for union activism and the labor movement at the time.