Troops firing on a mob typical of the Great Strike of 1877
Intro
The year is 1877 and the United States is in the midst of a financial Panic of 1873. Many industries were suffering greatly and the unemployment rate was escalating to frightening levels. The railroad companies compensated for the poor economic conditions by decreasing wages and standards. The reaction to these wage cuts would come to be known as The Great Railroad Strike of 1877.
A train of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Causes Several railroad companies made wage cuts up to 10% which were responsible for the uprising of their workers. The company that started it all was Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O). Their workers went on strike in Martinsburg, VA. Strike soon spread to other cities and railroad companies such as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, the Reading Railroad Company, and the Illinois Central Railroad Company. They had all instituted wage cuts which greatly angered their workers. Some of the workers were organized by groups and unions such as the Workingman’s Party. The workers in all cities had the same motives; money. They were going through hard economic times and they simply could not survive with 10% less income than they were use to. They then revolted against the companies that were the source of their grievances.
The Strikes
The strike in Martinsburg started a long chain reaction of strikes throughout the country. When the B&O railroad company implemented its wage cuts, workers at its station in Martinsville began to block trains from leaving their station. A local militia was brought in to try to quell the strike, but it was unsuccessful. Realizing that he was in deeper trouble than he could handle, the governor of Virginia requested that federal troops help him with the strikes that were beginning to rapidly spread across the B&O railroad.
By then, however, strikes were beginning to accelerate out of control. When news of the B&O strikers reached Baltimore, railroad workers in that city started a strike of their own. Hostilities rose quickly in that city, and a strike soon turned into a violent confrontation. In a panic, soldiers shot into the mob of strikers, killing 10. This did not sedate the mob, only serving to drive it into a crazier frenzy; in the resulting chaos much railroad equipment was destroyed. Meanwhile, strikes were spreading elsewhere.
A similar situation arose in Pittsburgh. Workers of the Pennsylvania railroad company went on an angry, restless strike. A local militia that was called in refused to shoot on the mob of amassing strikers. When National Guard troops arrived, they were less hesitant. They shot into the crowd, killing 20 and wounding hundreds more. The bloodshed drove the crowd into a frenzy, and the city erupted with violence. When the dust cleared, over 40 people had been killed, thousands of railcars destroyed, over one hundred locomotives were wrecked, and several railroad buildings had been raised.
In St. Louis, a strong strike shut down railroads for almost a week. In Chicago, a vast amount of workers struck. This large-scale strike was organized by the Workingmen’s Party. When a local militia stepped in, they fired on the crowd, killing over 50 Chicagoan workers. All of the strikes of 1877 had run their violent courses.
Google Map of the Strike Locations
Rioters felt they were being unjustly oppressed by the railroad industry and the soldiers that defended it.
Public Reaction
The Great Railroad Strikes of 1877 were extremely popular revolts. In the cities in which they occurred, strikes had almost unanimous support among the common people. This resulted in local militias having trouble justifying violence towards the strikers. Once striking mobs started to grow, they kept growing until just about everyone in the city was a part. The reason for such universal acceptance of strikes is that they represented such a strong sentiment of the common people against the “Robber Barons” that controlled their wages during America’s Gilded Age. As the Toledo Blade, a Republican newspaper said, railroad companies “care nothing for the welfare of the community at large, nor the best good of its members.”
However, political reception of the strikes was more negative. Politicians, who were much more likely to sympathize with the large corporations experiencing the strikes, mostly decided to use military power to halt the strikes. The governors of both Maryland and West Virginia chose this course of action. The president of the United States at the time, Rutherford B. Hayes, had mixed feelings on the strikes. As he once commented, “Every man has a right to refuse to work if the wages don’t suit him, but he has not right to prevent others from working if they are suited with the wages.” He too cautiously took the side of the railroad companies.
Trains resumed travel after the Great Strike, but a movement had begun.
Impact
Although the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was ultimately a catastrophic failure for the strikers, with over 100 dead, it was the start of something much bigger. It made a large statement to railroad companies – the common people were not content with the way they were being treated, and they would voice that discontent very loudly if need be. The immediate failure of the 1877 strikes started a much larger movement – one that would continue into the next century. In this capacity, the chaos of 1877 started a movement that would change the face of America.
Intro
The year is 1877 and the United States is in the midst of a financial Panic of 1873. Many industries were suffering greatly and the unemployment rate was escalating to frightening levels. The railroad companies compensated for the poor economic conditions by decreasing wages and standards. The reaction to these wage cuts would come to be known as The Great Railroad Strike of 1877.
Causes
Several railroad companies made wage cuts up to 10% which were responsible for the uprising of their workers. The company that started it all was Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O). Their workers went on strike in Martinsburg, VA. Strike soon spread to other cities and railroad companies such as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, the Reading Railroad Company, and the Illinois Central Railroad Company. They had all instituted wage cuts which greatly angered their workers. Some of the workers were organized by groups and unions such as the Workingman’s Party. The workers in all cities had the same motives; money. They were going through hard economic times and they simply could not survive with 10% less income than they were use to. They then revolted against the companies that were the source of their grievances.
The Strikes
The strike in Martinsburg started a long chain reaction of strikes throughout the country. When the B&O railroad company implemented its wage cuts, workers at its station in Martinsville began to block trains from leaving their station. A local militia was brought in to try to quell the strike, but it was unsuccessful. Realizing that he was in deeper trouble than he could handle, the governor of Virginia requested that federal troops help him with the strikes that were beginning to rapidly spread across the B&O railroad.
By then, however, strikes were beginning to accelerate out of control. When news of the B&O strikers reached Baltimore, railroad workers in that city started a strike of their own. Hostilities rose quickly in that city, and a strike soon turned into a violent confrontation. In a panic, soldiers shot into the mob of strikers, killing 10. This did not sedate the mob, only serving to drive it into a crazier frenzy; in the resulting chaos much railroad equipment was destroyed. Meanwhile, strikes were spreading elsewhere.
A similar situation arose in Pittsburgh. Workers of the Pennsylvania railroad company went on an angry, restless strike. A local militia that was called in refused to shoot on the mob of amassing strikers. When National Guard troops arrived, they were less hesitant. They shot into the crowd, killing 20 and wounding hundreds more. The bloodshed drove the crowd into a frenzy, and the city erupted with violence. When the dust cleared, over 40 people had been killed, thousands of railcars destroyed, over one hundred locomotives were wrecked, and several railroad buildings had been raised.
In St. Louis, a strong strike shut down railroads for almost a week. In Chicago, a vast amount of workers struck. This large-scale strike was organized by the Workingmen’s Party. When a local militia stepped in, they fired on the crowd, killing over 50 Chicagoan workers. All of the strikes of 1877 had run their violent courses.
Google Map of the Strike Locations
Public ReactionThe Great Railroad Strikes of 1877 were extremely popular revolts. In the cities in which they occurred, strikes had almost unanimous support among the common people. This resulted in local militias having trouble justifying violence towards the strikers. Once striking mobs started to grow, they kept growing until just about everyone in the city was a part. The reason for such universal acceptance of strikes is that they represented such a strong sentiment of the common people against the “Robber Barons” that controlled their wages during America’s Gilded Age. As the Toledo Blade, a Republican newspaper said, railroad companies “care nothing for the welfare of the community at large, nor the best good of its members.”
However, political reception of the strikes was more negative. Politicians, who were much more likely to sympathize with the large corporations experiencing the strikes, mostly decided to use military power to halt the strikes. The governors of both Maryland and West Virginia chose this course of action. The president of the United States at the time, Rutherford B. Hayes, had mixed feelings on the strikes. As he once commented, “Every man has a right to refuse to work if the wages don’t suit him, but he has not right to prevent others from working if they are suited with the wages.” He too cautiously took the side of the railroad companies.
Impact
Although the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was ultimately a catastrophic failure for the strikers, with over 100 dead, it was the start of something much bigger. It made a large statement to railroad companies – the common people were not content with the way they were being treated, and they would voice that discontent very loudly if need be. The immediate failure of the 1877 strikes started a much larger movement – one that would continue into the next century. In this capacity, the chaos of 1877 started a movement that would change the face of America.
Bibliography:
Firing on the Crowd http://web.gc.cuny.edu/ashp/1877/images/balt.jpg
B&O Trainhttp:www.ohiorivertrail.org/photos/historical/images/Baltimore%20&%20Ohio%20Railroad%20S%20class%202-10-2%20steam%20locomotive.jpg
Militia Firing on Rioters http://www.wsws.org/images/2009may/m11-hay1-1877-480.jpg
Trains Travel Even After the Strikes http://chestofbooks.com/reference/Wonder-Book-Of-Knowledge/images/The-Pennsylvania-Railroad-Company-s-Broadway-Limited-a-Tw.jpg
"1877 -- What Was 'The Great Strike?'." The Great Strike. http://web.gc.cuny.edu/ashp/1877/f1877-1.html (accessed May 10, 2010).
"ABC-CLIO Social Studies Databases: Login." ABC-CLIO Social Studies Databases: Login . http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display.aspx?categoryid=21&entryid=308620&searchtext=great+railroad+strike+1877&type=simple&option=all (accessed May 10, 2010).
"THE GREAT STRIKE - ." Welcome to the Catskill Archive . http://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/sk7711.Html (accessed May 10, 2010).
Holbrook, Stewart H. The Story of American Railroads.// New York: Crown Publishers, 1947.
"Rutherford B. Hayes Comments on the 1877 Railroad Strike." Railroads and the Making of Modern America. http://railroads.unl.edu/documents/view_document.php?views[0]=Strike&rends[0]=diary&id=rail.str.0110 (accessed May 10, 2010).
"The Tyranny of the 'Brotherhood.'" Railroads and the Making of Modern America. http://railroads.unl.edu/documents/view_document.php?views=Strike&rends=newspaper&publication=Toledo+Blade&id=rail.str.0313 (accessed May 10, 2010).