For one week in late july of 1877, america shook with anger and fear as a variety of urban residents, mostly working class, attacked railroad property in dozens of towns and cities. Topics in chronicling america great southwest railroad strike of 1886 the order for the general strike upon the gould southwestern system reached that place at 10. The great railroad strike started on july 17, 1877 in martinsburg, west virginia. More than 00 workers participated in the strikes, at the. The expulsion of the acadians, also known as the great upheaval, the great expulsion, the great deportation and le grand derangement, was the forced removal by the british of the acadian people from the presentday canadian maritime provinces of nova scotia, new brunswick, prince edward island and northern maine parts of an area also known as acadia. Illinois led the states in miles of track, and chicago was the railroad center of the united states. Whereas most historians treat the event solely as a massive labor strike that targeted the railroads, david o. The great railroad strike of 1877, sometimes referred to as the great upheaval, began on july 14 in martinsburg, west virginia, united states and ended some 45 days later, after it was put down by local and state militias, and federal troops.
It impacted the nation by showing the power of unionizing together and. The pullman strike was a nationwide railroad strike in the united states that lasted from may 11 to july 20, 1894, and a turning point for us labor law. The great railroad strike of 1877 was just the start, though a very powerful start. July 14, 1877 july 17, 1877 july 18, 1877 july 20, 1877 the workers of the martinsburg workers for the baltimore the workers blockaded federal troops sent railroad went on strike because, and ohio railroad went on the railroads by tipping by the president arrived. On july 23, workers at the yards of michigan central railroad randolph and michigan ave walked off the job, beginning a virtual general.
Great southwest railroad strike of 1886 railroads workers started a strike against railroads that were owned by jay gould jay gould was a robber baron industrialist gould owned almost 12 percent of all railroad track in the u. Courtesy of the rare book and manuscript library, university of illinois at urbanachampagne. The sixth maryland regiment fighting its way through baltimore, 1877. Great southwest railroad strike of 1886 by emily brash on.
In the previous quarter of a century, the nation, spurred. Describing both its immediate results in business and its farreaching effects on trade unionism, the author treats the dramatic story of the strike no as an isolated conflict, but as. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers. The strike was the result of continued wage cuts of the laborers such as engineers and trainmen, while many of the companies continued to pay out dividends to its stockholders. When the great railroad strikes of 1877 were over, a hundred people were dead, a thousand people had gone to jail, 100,000 workers had gone on strike, and the strikes had roused into action countless unemployed in the cities. More than half the freight on the nations 75,000 miles of track stopped moving.
That year the country was in the fourth year of a prolonged economic depression after the panic of 1873. From baltimore to chicago, the great railroad strike of 1877 led to bloody clashes between workers and troops before it was finally put down by force. Traditionally the great strike of 1877 was seen as a strike by railroad workers in reaction to wage cuts. Great southwest railroad strike of 1886 newspaper and. In response to the great railroad strike of 1877, pennsylvania railroad president thomas a. It pitted the american railway union aru against the pullman company, the main railroads, and the federal government of the united states under president grover cleveland. Labor strikes for the rail workers still occurred in the future in 1884 to 1886, 1888 to 1889, and in 1894. Many historians date the first great industrial upheaval of american labor to july 16, 1877, when workers on the baltimore and ohio railroad began refusing to work in protest against a round of. Such is the legacy of the great strike of 1877, otherwise referred to as the great upheaval.
There was absolutely no advanced planning, showing how many rank and file workers had the same concerns about quality of life, as well as the same anger at those who controlled the wealth. The railroad strike of 1877 in reading berks history center. Blood on the tracks by cecilia holland, kindle edition, 79 pages, 2011. They remain in many cities today as a reminder of a perceived war on capitalism and the american way of life. These events influenced later events in the next two decades. The great strike of 1877 was one of the largest and most violent urban uprisings in american history. Great railroad strike 1877 interstate strike crushed by. There was a possibility, that the next strike could come in the history as the continue reading great railroad strike of 1877 it was just the. The first major strike in the united states history was the great railroad strike of 1877. This was the united states first major railroad strike. Streets, railroads, and the great strike of 1877 historical studies of urban america.
This is the stage that some commentators think weve also reached today. These strikes had a great impact on the united states. Many workers did not approve of this and one railroad company at a time all stopped working and started a strike. Timeline of the great railroad strike the great railroad. Great railroad strike of 1877 project gutenberg self.
The strikers refused to let the trains run until the most recent pay cut was returned to the employees. The great railroad strike of 1877 was the countrys first major rail strike and witnessed the first general strike in the nations history. Both the state and federal militia were sent to break it up, and it eventually did after fortyfive days. Knights of labor and the limits of producerist organizing duration. This strike finally ended some 69 days later, after it was put down by unofficial militias, the national guard, and federal troops. Albee and the great railroad strike in pittsburgh, july 2122, 1877. During american labors great upheaval of the mid1880s, the knights of labor. This violent strike shortly paralyzed americas commerce leading to the mobilization of militia by ten state governors to reopen the rail road traffic. The great railroad strike, 1894 library of congress. Streets, railroads, and the great strike of 1877 historical studies of urban america stowell, david o.
More than 100,000 workers had gone on strike, shutting down nearly half of the nations rail systems. Title the great railroad strike, 1894 summary photograph shows special patrolling train rock island railroad, with company c, 15th u. A member of the knight of labor in texas was fired. Interstate strike, crushed by federal troops, which resulted in extensive property damage and many deaths. Their erection was a monument to the great upheaval of 1877. And that seemingly isolated incident quickly turned into a national movement. The great railroad strike of 1877 begins, july 24, 1877. The history of the pullman strike of 1894, including information about george pullman and his model workers town, press portrayals of the strike, federal intervention, governor altgelds position, public opinion, and the national repercussions created by the strike. The great railroad strike of 1877, sometimes referred to as the great upheaval, began on july. The great railroad strike and labor unions was a turning point in history because it was the first strike between laborers and businessmen. Albee captured an extraordinary series of photographs. This site explores the history of railroads, telegraphs, and technologies in the nineteenth century, especially the era of the civil war.
Part of the great railroad strike instructional packet, this newspaper article from july 17, 1877 describes the start of the strike. Thanks to a writer generally known for her many historical novels, there is now available a gripping account of the reallife struggle of workers in 1877 against the railroad barons the most hated 1% of that time. Despite the greater power of employers, sometimes workers are able to form. Picturing burnt machinery and twisted debris, albee documented the local aftermath of what scholars consider the first national labor action in the united states the great railroad strike of 1877. Terms in this set 22 great railroad strike of 1877.
The pullman strike of 1894 threatened an entire nation with social and economic upheaval. Turning point the great railroad strike of 1877 and the. The great railroad strike of 1877 was a national crisis and involved more than 100,000 railway workers in 14 states. Streets, railroads, and the great strike of 1877 david o. Starting with the great upheaval general strike of 1877, it moves quickly through other mass actions of labor history, ending with the labor upheaval of the vietnam era, with a piece on the significance of the mass strike at the end, as well as a long afterword by the author on changing labor tactics in an. Survey of the great railroad strike of 1877, a series of violent rail strikes across the united states.
America came closer to social revolution than at any other time in its century of nationhood. Annotated bibliography great railroad strike of 1877. The great railroad strike came about because wages were cut a second time in a year for workers of the baltimore and ohio railroad company. Then followed the great railroad strike of 1878, though it was not so great anymore and was suppressed brutally. This spread up and down the railroad line across the nation. Even then they were sabotaged and harassed along their routes. Custom the great railroad strike of 1877 essay writing. July, 1877, does not appear in many history books as a memorable date, yet it marks the first great american mass strike, a movement which was viewed at the time as a violent rebellion. Sometime after july 22, 1877, pittsburgh photographer s. Scott demanded that nonviolent strikers in pittsburgh be fed a rifle diet for several days. Workers were tired of the conditions they had to work in and the treatments they received. Great railroad strike of 1877, series of violent rail strikes across the united states in 1877. Fraser is one of the great historians of both american capital and labor over the past thirty. What lead up the great railroad strike of 1877 was a depression that started in september of 1873.
Lessons of the great uprising of 1877 workers world. The book by gibb and knowlton may be too corporatefriendly for academic. Through examination of three new york state cities albany, buffalo, and syracuse stowell concludes that the great strike was an urban phenomenon. More than 100,000 workers participated in the strikes, at the height of which more than half the freight on the countrys tracks had come to a halt. Streets, railroads, and the great strike of 1877 by david.
A group of railroad workers on the baltimore and ohio railroad rose up and began to strike due to wage cuts. The strikes and the violence it spawned briefly paralyzed the countrys commerce and led governors in ten states to mobilize 60,000 militia members to reopen rail traffic. The railroad strike of 1877 in reading by ronald l. The great railroad strike of 1877 began with a work stoppage by railroad employees in west virginia who were protesting a reduction in their wages. What came to be known as the great railroad strike of 1877 began on july 14 in martinsburg, west virginia.
The 5 calibers to claim the most powerful handgun in the world title reupload duration. The knights of labor and the thirdparty movement in texas, 1886. The depression of the 1870s forced the american railroads into a costcutting mode. Employers started making wage cuts because of the debt our country was in from fighting in the civil war. Nysed oce nysl teachers great railroad strike document 1. Streets, railroads, and the great strike of 1877 by. The great railroad strike the great railroad strike of.
The classic signposts of strugglethe 1877 railroad strike. Great wealth had been produced by the railroads in illinois, and hundreds of thousands of people derived their support directly from the wages paid employees. The new deal era, which was the biggest pushback to capitalist barbarism that. Founded in 1869, the first national union lasted, under the leadership of terence v. The strike of 1877, also known as the great strike took place on railroads across the nation. The great railroad strike of 1877 the great railroad strike of 1877 began in the month of july and started off in a town called martinburg which was located in the state of west virginia. Filippelli in the hot, midjuly of 1877, with the nation prostrate in the fourth year of a deep depression.
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