Great+Railroad+Strike+of+1877

**Great Railroad Strike of 1877**

-By Laura White and Matt Ryan

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was the first of four major strikes in the nineteenth century. It involved overpowering companies, mistreated workers, unorganized mobs, federal intervention, and brought about change. Read on to learn how!

**The Companies** There were several major railroad companies in place by 1877, including the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the Erie Railroad, and the Pennsylvania Railroad. These railroad corporations were supported financially mainly by the federal Government. Owners of the Companies were in control of hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, as well as tens of thousands of employees. These employees’ safety was not a concern to the owners.

**The Workers ** Railroad workers, by 1877, were diverse. There were Irish and Chinese immigrants looking for a better life than their home countries, as well as average American men. They worked an average of 12 hours a day, for 6 days a week, for about $2.50 a day. Sometimes they would have to work for 16-20 hours without a break. The job was dangerous, too; in 1889, 2,000 rail workers were killed while working, and 20,000 were injured. The railroad companies did not give any compensation for the families, who would be greatly affected by the loss or injury of the bread-winner.

**The Problems ** The railroad workers were fed up with the poor working conditions of the railroad, and in 1873, a national depression was the last straw. People starved, with little money for food, and still worked the long days the companies required. The federal government did not try to end the Panic of 1873, nor did they try to help ease the suffering of the American workers. Because of the Depression, companies cut wages and some even increased work hours. The Pennsylvania Railroad doubled the length of the freight trains, but kept the same crew size. This made for more dangerous and difficult work. With thousands of jobless men needing positions on the railroads, the railroad officials were certain that that the workmen would be too afraid to walk out. The American laborer on the railroads was in a tough position: it was time for change.

**Strike** On July 17, 1877, workers on the B&O Railroad rioted in Martinsburg, West Virginia, standing up for their American rights, as they put it, beginning America’s first national strike. They blocked freight trains from moving, demanding the railroad company reverse its pay cuts. Soon the strike spread to Baltimore, where violence erupted between a mob of strikers and state militia, with 10 deaths and thousands of strikers destroying railroad property. The mob-strike quickly spread to Pittsburg, where many local militia actually joined the strike, to St. Louis and Chicago by the 21st, and many other cities. Violence in these strikes occurred in response to police and militia violence on the strikers. Common in newspapers during these two weeks of strikes, the front pages no longer displayed news of the war with Russia and Turkey or the dispute over the Sioux Indians' territory, but of the strikes. A New York Times article reported on the strikes in Pittsburg, published on July 22 on the front page:

//“A bloody riot at Pittsburg.// //The militia fire into a crowd of spectators- between twenty and thirty persons killed and a large number wounded- indignation arouse thereby- the soldiers besieged by a desperate mob- several of them killed- threats of death and ruin- the strike increasing at other points- th// //e mob firing buildings- the sheriff killed- a battery captured// //by the rioters.”// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">-“The Railroad Strikes” (New York Times, 22 July 1877, page 1) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;">.



Another newspaper, the Albany Argus, reported of the first strike in Martinsburg, detailing the mob qualities of the strike:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//"MARTINSBURG, W. VA., July 16- ...Large mobs assembled at the depot, and a riot at one time was imminent. Col. Shutt, mayor of the town, with all the police at his command, arrested the ringleaders of the strike, and attempted to protect the new men in the discharge of their duties; but the strikers were reinforced by a large body of citizens, swelling the crowd till it reached the proportions of a large mob. With the assistance of this mob the strikers succeeded in rescuing their comrades."// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">-“Serious Strikes” ( <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//The Albany Argus,// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">17 July 1877).

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;">This strike was supported by immigrants and native-born Americans, African-Americans and whites, men and women, all of whom were affected by the Panic of 1873. Farmers, small shop owners, and local sheriffs also sympathized with their cause. Overall, about 80,000 railroad workers halted their work during the course of the strikes. The Workingmen’s Party of the United States tried to direct the strike once it had begun, but it failed to connect the small-scale, local strikes together into a larger one. Up until the strike, support for railroad unions had been on the decline; though growing in the 1860s, they suffered defeats in 1873 and 1874, at the time of the Panic. The Brotherhood of Engineers made minor triumphs, but did not represent most railroad workers. By 1877, no railroad union could oppose the powerful owners, and thus, the strike was largely spontaneous, without national organization. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Federal troops were able to put a stop to the strikes in all the cities, though about 100 were killed and a large number wounded. The mob was unprepared for a long strike against the Army, and railroad owners regained control.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Government Intervention** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Railroad owners, shocked at the strikes, called these workers ‘un-American.’ To stop the riots happening across the country militias and the National Guard were called into action: the first time the U.S. Army was used to stop a strike. Many local militias were ineffective, as they saw friends and relatives in the crowd and refused to fire upon them. At first, President Hayes was wary that many Americans saw their government and army as a threat- and how would the American people react if they were used against the workers? <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Soon, however, the railroad owners won him over. In Philadelphia a mob attacked the militia. The National Guard was called in and started firing on the mob, killing 20 people. The mob wanted revenge and started to destroy even more of the railroad company’s supplies. The end result was more than 4 million dollars in damage. A mayor in the town of Martinsburg, West Virginia called the police on the strikes and started arrest the ring leaders. This made the strike even worse and the police had to pull back. They were too intimidated by the large mob. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Laws were also set up to allow trials in a federal court against strikers, such as anyone who hindered the transport of mail, which was carried on some train cars, or destroyed railroad property. The companies cleverly combined mail, passenger and freight cars so that a blockade of the entire train would be a violation. Strikers were readily shot and arrested. The law as well as the federal troops began to add up against them. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Federal troops were called into major cities that were holding strikes including St. Louis, Chicago, Baltimore, San Francisco, and Kansas City. Federal troops finally got the strikes under control, mostly within two weeks, after more than 100 people had died and even more were wounded. The Federal Government still did not want to get involved in economic affairs and let the depression go on until 1878.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Changes** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Immediately after the strikes, newspapers called for the harsh punishment of strikers and a stronger and more efficient military force. In the short term, workers got the wage cuts repealed and oppressive work rules were taken away. Some companies even raised wages to stop future riots from happening. The industrial corporations started gaining even more control because they started giving the Government money to strengthen the Army and Militias. Newspapers started saying that workers and immigrants were “enemies of progress." Workers started to form national organizations to counter this. Unions started gaining even more strength and some unions reached up to 700,000 members. The Knights of Labor, founded in secret in 1869, meeting openly after 1979, was the largest national union. It built local labor assemblies including all types of people and pushed for cooperative commonwealth, where everyone worked and owned a small share of the enterprise.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;">** References **

**Bibliography**

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;">"1877 - What Was "the Great Strike"?" The City University of New York Graduate Center. American social history project. http://web.gc.cuny.edu/ashp/1877/f1877-1.html.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Great Railroad Strike of 1877.” ABC-Clio. http://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/308620?terms=great%20railroad%20strike&webSiteCode=SLN_AMHIST&returnToPage=%2fSearch%2fDisplay%2f308620%3fterms%3dgreat+railroad+strike&token=280F6A1683B6A0650BD8BFA3270E5F66&casError=False.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Serious Strikes.” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//The Albany Argus.// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">17 July 1877. http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/teacherguides/strike/docs/1serious.htm.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“The Railroad Strikes.” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//New York Times// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. 22 July 1877. Page 1. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> http://hn.bigchalk.com/hnweb/hn/do/document?set=searchera&start=26&rendition=x-article-image&inmylist=false&urn=urn%3Aproquest%3AUS%3BPQDOC%3BHNP%3BPQD%3BHNP%3BPROD%3Bx-article-image%3B80655539&mylisturn=urn%3Aproquest%3AUS%3BPQDOC%3BHNP%3BPQD%3BHNP%3BPROD%3Bx-citation%3B80655539.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Yellen, Samuel. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//American Labor Struggles// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. New York: S.A. Russell, The Harbor Press, 1936.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Pictography** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Picture 1: "Aristocracy of Wealth" New York Times. http://web.gc.cuny.edu/ashp/1877/f1877-2.htm Picture 2: "Irish and Chinese immigrants" American Social History Project. http://web.gc.cuny.edu/ashp/1877/f1877-3.htm Picture 3: "Poor Family" American Social History Project. http://web.gc.cuny.edu/ashp/1877/f1877-4.html Picture 4: "Strikers' Meeting" American Social History Project. http://web.gc.cuny.edu/ashp/1877/f1877-5.html <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Picture 5: “Great Railroad Strike of 1877.” ABC-Clio. http://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/308620?terms=great%20railroad%20strike&webSiteCode=SLN_AMHIST&returnToPage=%2fSearch%2fDisplay%2f308620%3fterms%3dgreat+railroad+strike&token=280F6A1683B6A0650BD8BFA3270E5F66&casError=False. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Picture 6: " Knights of Labor" American Social History Project. http://web.gc.cuny.edu/ashp/1877/f1877-6.html