Final answer:
The Homestead Strike was a labor union protest in 1892 at Homestead Steel Mill, turning violent as steelworkers clashed with hired Pinkerton guards, leading to the strike's defeat and the crippling of the union movement.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Homestead Strike was a significant labor union protest in the steel industry that took place in 1892 at Andrew Carnegie's Homestead Steel Mill in Pennsylvania. When the steel mill reduced workers' wages, approximately 750 out of 3,000 workers, who were part of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers Union, went on strike. The situation escalated when the management, under Henry Frick, decided to crush the union by hiring private Pinkerton guards to allow strikebreakers into the factory, leading to a violent confrontation. In the aftermath, the strike was defeated, and the union was effectively broken, with workers accepting reduced pay and worse conditions without the protection of a union for decades.