query: where did the great railroad strike of 1877 happen

pos: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 Great Railroad Strike of 1877 The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, sometimes referred to as the Great Upheaval, began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, United States after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut wages for the third time in a year. This strike finally ended some 45 days later, after it was put down by local and state militias, and federal troops. Because of economic problems and pressure on wages by the railroads, workers in numerous other cities, in New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland, into Illinois and Missouri, also went out on strike. An estimated 100 people

pos: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 in early August, the strike energized the labor movement and was precursor to labor unrest in the 1880s and 1890s. Another was placed in 1978 in Martinsburg, WV by the West Virginia Department of Culture and History. Great Railroad Strike of 1877 The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, sometimes referred to as the Great Upheaval, began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, United States after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut wages for the third time in a year. This strike finally ended some 45 days later, after it was put down by local and state militias, and

pos: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 Great Railroad Strike of 1877 The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, sometimes referred to as the Great Upheaval, began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, United States after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut wages for the third time in a year. This strike finally ended some 45 days later, after it was put down by local and state militias, and federal troops. Because of economic problems and pressure on wages by the railroads, workers in numerous other cities, in New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland, into Illinois and Missouri, also went out on strike. An estimated 100 people

pos: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 prevent riot or insurrections." In 2003 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops, where the strike began, were declared a National Historic Landmark. In 2013 a historical marker commemorating the event was placed in Baltimore, MD, by the Maryland Historical Trust and Maryland State Highway Administration. Its inscription reads: The first national strike began July 16, 1877, with Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and Baltimore, Maryland. It spread across the nation halting rail traffic and closing factories in reaction to widespread worker discontent over wage cuts and conditions during a national depression. Broken by Federal troops

pos: Franklin B. Gowen act, announcing an across-the-board wage cut of 10 per cent, effective June 1, 1877. Cuts on other roads — not just the four trunk lines — followed, affecting rail workers nationwide. The B&O's 10 per cent cut precipitated, in July 1877, a work stoppage in Martinsburg, West Virginia, which multiplied with telegraphic speed into the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. The Great Strike flashed from coast to coast; workers on railroad after railroad, in city after city, struck as well, forcing a halt to all rail activity in or through numerous locales, and in some places triggering general non-railroad work

pos: Scranton, Pennsylvania the new county, which enabled both more local control and political patronage, helped begin the Scranton General Strike of 1877. This was in part due to the larger Great Railroad Strike, in which railroad workers began to organize and participate in walkouts after wage cuts in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The national economy had lagged since the Panic of 1873, and workers in many industries struggled with low wages and intermittent work. In Scranton, mineworkers followed the railroad men off the job, as did others. A protest of 5,000 strikers ended in violence, with a total of four men killed, and

pos: Chicago railroad strike of 1877 economic impacts rippled throughout many economic sectors throughout the industrialized world. During the summer of 1877, tensions erupted across the nation in what would become known as the Great Railroad Strike or simply the Great Strikes. Work stoppage was followed by civil unrest across the nation. Violence began in Martinsburg, West Virginia and spread along the rail lines through Baltimore and on to several major cities and transportation hubs of the time, including Reading, Scranton and Shamokin, Pennsylvania; and a bloodless general strike in St. Louis, Missouri. In the worst case, rioting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania left 61 dead and 124

pos: Pittsburgh railroad strike of 1877 US alone, and the economic impacts rippled through many economic sectors throughout the industrialized world. During the summer of 1877, tensions erupted across the nation in what would become known as the Great Railroad Strike, or simply the Great Strikes. Work stoppage was followed by civil unrest across the nation. Violence began in Martinsburg, West Virginia and spread along the rail lines through Baltimore, and on to several major cities and transportation hubs of the time, including Reading, Scranton and Shamokin, Pennsylvania; a bloodless general strike in St. Louis, Missouri; and a short lived uprising in Chicago, Illinois. What began

pos: Baltimore railroad strike of 1877 economic sectors throughout the industrialized world. In mid-1877, tensions erupted in stoppages and civil unrest across the nation in what would become known as the Great Railroad Strike or the Great Strikes. Violence began in Martinsburg, West Virginia and spread along the rail lines through Baltimore and on to several major cities and transportation hubs of the time, including Reading, Scranton and Shamokin, Pennsylvania; a bloodless general strike in St. Louis, Missouri; and a short lived uprising in Chicago, Illinois. In the worst case, rioting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania left 61 dead and 124 injured. Much of the city's center was

pos: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 Catholic organization, had 700,000 members seeking to represent all workers. In 1888 Archbishop James Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore sympathized with the workers and collaborated with other bishops to lift the prohibition against workers joining the KOL. Other workers also took actions, and unrest marked the following decades. In 1886 Samuel Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor for the skilled craft trades, attracting skilled workers from other groups. Other labor organizing followed. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 started on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, in response to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) cutting wages of workers for

pos: 1877 St. Louis general strike 1875, production in iron and steel dropped as much as 45 percent, and a million or more lost their jobs. In 1876, 76 railroad companies went bankrupt or entered receivership in the US alone, and the economic impacts rippled throughout many economic sectors throughout the industrialized world. In mid-1877, tensions erupted in stoppages and civil unrest across the nation in what would become known as the Great Railroad Strike or the Great Strikes. Violence began in Martinsburg, West Virginia and spread along the rail lines through Baltimore and on to several major cities and transportation hubs of the time, including

pos: Rutherford B. Hayes others were indicted for conspiracy in 1882. After two trials, the defendants were acquitted in 1883. In his first year in office, Hayes was faced with the United States' largest labor uprising to date, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. In order to make up for financial losses suffered since the panic of 1873, the major railroads had cut their employees' wages several times in 1877. In July of that year, workers from the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad walked off the job in Martinsburg, West Virginia, to protest their reduction in pay. The strike quickly spread to workers of the

pos: Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was announced in the same year, workers began the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The strike spread to Cumberland, and when the governor of Maryland on July 20 attempted to put down the strike by sending the state militia from Baltimore, riots broke out resulting in 11 deaths, the burning of parts of Camden station, and damage to several engines and cars. The next day workers in Pittsburgh staged a sympathy strike that was also met with an assault by the state militia; Pittsburgh then erupted into widespread rioting. The strike ended after

pos: Shamokin, Pennsylvania power generating station on Independence Street started on September 22, 1883, St. Edward's Roman Catholic Church which was connected, became the first church in the world to be lit by electricity. Until 2017, Jones Hardware Company was located at the Independence Street site of the former 1882 Edison electrical station in Shamokin.) In the 1877 Shamokin Uprising, railroad workers and miners angered by unexpected cuts in wages begun by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad joined what developed across the East with the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, which began with strikes in neighboring Martinsburg, West Virginia, then others in Maryland

pos: Reading Railroad Massacre US alone, and the economic impacts rippled through many economic sectors throughout the industrialized world. In mid-1877, tensions erupted in stoppages and civil unrest across the nation in what would become known as the Great Railroad Strike or the Great Strikes. Violence broke out in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and spread along the rail lines through Baltimore and on to several major cities and transportation hubs of the time, including Reading, Scranton, and Shamokin, Pennsylvania; a bloodless general strike in St. Louis, Missouri; and a short lived uprising in Chicago, Illinois. In the worst case, rioting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, left 61

pos: Presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes and stricter managerial control. In July 1877, workers from the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad walked off the job in Martinsburg, West Virginia, to protest their reduction in pay. The strike quickly spread to workers of the New York Central, Erie, and Pennsylvania railroads, with the strikers soon numbering in the thousands. In many communities, friends and family members of the railroad workers also became involved in the strike, and strike leaders struggled to control crowds. Fearing a riot, Governor Henry M. Mathews asked Hayes to send federal troops to Martinsburg, and Hayes did so, but when the troops arrived there

pos: Keyser, West Virginia 7, 1875. Keyser played an early and prominent role in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. That year, in the midst of a deep nationwide depression ("the Long Depression") that had caused extensive unemployment and hunger, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad cut its employees' wages by 10 percent. On July 16, trainmen in Martinsburg, West Virginia, were the first to take action, uncoupling a cattle train and announcing no more trains would run through until the wage cuts were restored. The strike spread up and down the line and eventually across the entire country. Within two days, workers in Keyser—notably

pos: Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops is a historic industrial district in Martinsburg, West Virginia. It is significant both for its railroading architecture by Albert Fink and John Rudolph Niernsee and for its role in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. It consists of three contributing buildings, one of which is the oldest covered roundhouse in the United States. The presence of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company in Martinsburg dates back to the late 1840s, when the first engine and machine shops were erected for the expanding company. The shops were designated a

pos: Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops railroad site, which dates to the 1840s, is ongoing, but the buildings are open for public tours and can be rented for special events. On July 31, 2003, the B&O Roundhouse was designated a National Historic Landmark and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops is a historic industrial district in Martinsburg, West Virginia. It is significant both for its railroading architecture by Albert Fink and John Rudolph Niernsee and for its role in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. It consists of three contributing buildings,

neg: 1877 Shamokin uprising 1877 Shamokin uprising The 1877 Shamokin uprising occurred in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, in July 1877, as one of the several cities in the state where strikes occurred as part of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. The Great Strike was the first in the United States in which workers across the country united in an action against major companies. In many cities, the railroad workers were joined by other industrial workers in general strikes. Railroad workers and miners had perilous jobs in the late 19th century. More than 200 railroad workers and 1000 miners died in accidents every year. The companies

neg: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 Commune's command center, and arrested some seventy strikers. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began to lose momentum when President Hayes sent federal troops from city to city. These troops suppressed strike after strike, until at last, approximately 45 days after it had started, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was over. Strikers in Pittsburgh burned in total 39 buildings, 104 engines, 46–66 passenger cars, and 1,200–1,383 freight cars. Damage estimates ranged from five to 10 million dollars. After the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, union organizers planned for their next battles while politicians and business leaders took steps to

neg: 1877 Shamokin uprising that if workers acted together, they could challenge the corporate system. By organizing into unions, workers could mobilize their strength. 1877 Shamokin uprising The 1877 Shamokin uprising occurred in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, in July 1877, as one of the several cities in the state where strikes occurred as part of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. The Great Strike was the first in the United States in which workers across the country united in an action against major companies. In many cities, the railroad workers were joined by other industrial workers in general strikes. Railroad workers and miners had perilous jobs

neg: Baltimore railroad strike of 1877 State Highway Administration. The text of the marker was proposed by Bill Barry, Director of Labor Studies at the Baltimore County Community College. Baltimore railroad strike of 1877 The Baltimore railroad strike of 1877 involved several days of work stoppage and violence in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1877. It formed a part of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, during which widespread civil unrest spread nationwide following the global depression and economic downturns of the mid-1870s. Strikes broke out along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) on July 16, the same day that 10% wage reductions were scheduled. Violence erupted in

neg: Baltimore railroad strike of 1877 Baltimore railroad strike of 1877 The Baltimore railroad strike of 1877 involved several days of work stoppage and violence in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1877. It formed a part of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, during which widespread civil unrest spread nationwide following the global depression and economic downturns of the mid-1870s. Strikes broke out along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) on July 16, the same day that 10% wage reductions were scheduled. Violence erupted in Baltimore on July 20, with police and soldiers of the Maryland National Guard clashing with crowds of thousands gathered throughout the city. In

neg: Chicago railroad strike of 1877 Chicago railroad strike of 1877 The Chicago railroad strike of 1877 was a series of work stoppages and civil unrest in Chicago, Illinois, which occurred as part of the larger national strikes and rioting of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. Meetings of working men in Chicago on July 26 led to workers from a number of industries striking on the following morning, and over the next few days, large crowds gathered throughout the city, resulting in violent clashes with police. By the time order was restored on the evening of July 26, 14 to 30 rioters were dead or

neg: 1877 St. Louis general strike 1877 St. Louis general strike The 1877 St. Louis general strike is largely accepted as the first general strike in the United States. It grew out of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. The strike was largely organized by the Knights of Labor and the Marxist-leaning Workingmen's Party, the main radical political party of the era. When the railroad strike reached East St. Louis, Illinois in July 1877, the St. Louis Workingman's Party led a group of approximately 500 people across the river in an act of solidarity with the nearly 1,000 workers on strike. The party transformed, through speeches

neg: Pittsburgh railroad strike of 1877 Pittsburgh railroad strike of 1877 The Pittsburgh railway strike occurred in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as part of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. It was one of many incidents of strikes, labor unrest and violence in cities across the United States, including several in Pennsylvania. Other cities dealing with similar unrest included Philadelphia, Reading, Shamokin and Scranton. The incidents followed repeated reductions in wages and sometimes increases in workload by railroad companies, during a period of economic recession following the Panic of 1873. Between July 21 and 22 in Pittsburgh, a major center of the Pennsylvania Railroad, some 40 people (including

neg: Chicago railroad strike of 1877 Halstead Street, where they were joined by 300 additional cavalry and infantry. Mayor Heath issued a proclamation: The city authorities, having dispersed all lawlessness in the city, and law and order being restored, I now urge and request all business men and employers generally to resume work, and give as much employment to their workmen as possible. From that point onward the city was quiet. The railroad workers, returned to work at their previous wages, demoralized by the failure of similar strikes throughout the country. Chicago railroad strike of 1877 The Chicago railroad strike of 1877 was a series of

neg: Northern Michigan and Mackinaw City did not have rail service until the early 1880s. Despite setbacks from the Great Michigan Fire in 1871 in Manistee and other lumbering ports, lumbering in Northern Michigan greatly increased. New mechanical tools such as steam-powered (versus water-powered) sawmills and circular saws expanded the ability to process high volumes of lumber quickly. Narrow-gauge moveable rails made it possible to harvest timber year round, in previously inaccessible places away from rivers. The Michigan lumber market experienced a crash in July 1877 that coincided with the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. By 1880 the Great Lakes region would dominate

neg: Winfield Scott Hancock of the country and was militarily uneventful with the exception of the army's involvement in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. When railroad workers went on strike to protest wage cuts, the nation's transportation system was paralyzed. The governors of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland asked President Hayes to call in federal troops to re-open the railways. Once federal troops entered the cities, most of the strikers melted away, but there were some violent clashes. All the while Hancock was posted in New York, he did his best to keep his political ambitions alive. He received some votes at the

neg: Pittsburgh railroad strike of 1877 women and children) were killed in the ensuing riots; strikers burned the Union Depot and 38 other buildings at the yards. In addition, more than 120 train engines and more than 1,200 rail cars were destroyed. Due to track damage, trains did not run for a week following the cessation of violence. Estimates of losses ranged from $2 million to $5 million, according to the railroad company and an 1878 report by a state legislative investigative committee. Pittsburgh was the site of the most violence and physical damage of any city in the country during the Great Strike. Fresh troops

neg: Ferdinand Claiborne Latrobe serving in the House he held the position of Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. In 1875, he was elected Mayor of Baltimore and served until 1877. The same year, Latrobe and then Maryland Governor John Lee Carroll, were present throughout strikes and outbreaks of violence during the Baltimore railroad strike of 1877 that erupted in as part of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. He reelected in 1878 and served two more terms until 1881. In 1883 he was again elected mayor, serving until 1885. During this latter term, a seven-mile tunnel was built to direct water from

neg: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 marched to the Reading Railroad Depot in Shamokin, east of Sunbury along the Susquehanna River valley. They looted the depot when the town announced it would pay them only $1/day for emergency public employment. The mayor, who owned coal mines, organized a city militia. It committed 14 civilian shooting casualties, resulting in the deaths of two persons. On August 1, 1877, in Scranton in northeast Pennsylvania, one day after railroad workers conceded a strike, a city posse of 51 men armed with new rifles and under the command of William Walker Scranton, general manager of the Lackawanna Iron & Coal

neg: Battle of the Viaduct Battle of the Viaduct The Battle of the Viaduct was an event that took place in Chicago due to a much larger and more prolific event, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. The strike began on July 14, 1877 in Virginia, during a time of great economic woe throughout the country, thus it quickly gained momentum, eventually becoming the first national strike in United States' History. The city of Chicago was quickly affected by the strike. Being one of the most heavily populated cities in America at the time, crowds gathered in extreme numbers to partake in the upheaval. One

neg: Homestead strike relations in the United States. The AA strike at the Homestead steel mill in 1892 was different from previous large-scale strikes in American history such as the Great railroad strike of 1877 or the Great Southwest Railroad Strike of 1886. Earlier strikes had been largely leaderless and disorganized mass uprisings of workers. Andrew Carnegie placed industrialist Henry Clay Frick in charge of his company's operations in 1881. Frick resolved to break the union at Homestead. "The mills have never been able to turn out the product they should, owing to being held back by the Amalgamated men," he complained in

neg: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 number of strikes increased. The Knights of Labor grew to be a national organization of predominately Catholic workers, numbering 700,000 by the early 1880s. In the 1880s nearly 10,000 strike actions and lockouts took place. In 1886 nearly 700,000 workers went on strike. Business leaders strengthened their opposition to the unions, often firing men who tried to organize or join them. Nonetheless, the labor movement continued to grow. One result of the strike was increased public awareness of the grievances of railroad workers. On May 1, 1880, the B&O Railroad, which had the lowest wage rate of any major railroad,

neg: Franklin B. Gowen by the cash-strapped Reading Railroad from May through mid-July. While the Great Strike gathered momentum, Gowen found the money to pay back wages in Reading. Local outrage at Gowen and the Reading was intensified as newly laid-off brakemen swelled the ranks of unemployed railroad men and strikebreakers saw their wages as a transparent effort to buy loyalty. Ultimately, within a month of the first Mollie Maguire hangings (June 20, 1877), the ongoing BLE strike in Reading, which Gowen believed he had broken just as he had the WBA strike in 1875, gained fresh momentum from the unfolding Great Strike; tensions

neg: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 the third time in a year. Striking workers would not allow any of the trains, mainly freight trains, to roll until this third wage cut was revoked. West Virginia Governor Henry M. Mathews sent in state militia units to restore train service but the soldiers refused to fire on the strikers. The governor in Charleston, West Virginia then appealed for federal troops. Meanwhile, the Strike also spread into western Maryland to the major railroad hub of Cumberland, county seat of Allegany County where railway workers stopped freight and passenger traffic. In Baltimore with the famous Fifth ("Dandy Fifth") and Sixth

neg: Scranton, Pennsylvania a national recession and loss of business. As the economy contracted, the railroad companies reduced wages of workers in most classes (while sometimes reserving raises for their top management). A major strike of railroad workers in August 1877, part of the Great Railroad Strike, attracted workers from the steel industry and mining as well, and developed as the Scranton General Strike. Four rioters were killed during unrest during the strike, after the mayor mustered a militia. With violence suppressed by militia and federal troops, workers finally returned to their jobs, not able to gain any economic relief. William Walker Scranton,

neg: General strike be considered as 'general strikes'. In the United States, the Philadelphia General Strike of 1835 lasted for three weeks, after which the striking workers won their goal of a ten-hour workday and an increase in wages. Later general strikes include the 1877 Saint Louis general strike, which grew out of the events of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 across the United States and the 1892 New Orleans general strike. The year of 1919 saw a cascade of general strikes around the world as a result of the political convulsions caused by the First World War – in Germany, Belfast,

neg: Scranton general strike Knights of Labor, to reorganize the police force, "that had disgraced itself in 1877 during a strike of anthracite miners in the Scranton area." In contrast, Logan, who was present as events unfolded, dedicates his book on the topic to the "patriotic young men, who had wisdom to discern the city's danger, and the patient courage to provide for its defense." Scranton general strike The Scranton general strike was a widespread work stoppage in 1877 by workers in Scranton, Pennsylvania, which took place as part of the Great Railroad Strike, and was the last in a number of violent outbreaks

neg: Brakemen's Brotherhood 1 alone including approximately 150 members. The Erie Railroad brakemen and the Brakemen's Brotherhood were part of a strike in 1874 that successfully stopped the reduction of brakemen crews from four to three. They struck again in 1877, ostensibly over the issue of the introduction of "double headers" (two engines pulling a single longer train), which reduced operating costs for the railways by reducing the number of conductors and brakemen needed over that required by two trains of comparable length. The Brakemen's Brotherhood was decimated by the aftermath of the failed Great Railroad Strike of 1877, which resulted in a

neg: East Village, Manhattan began what came to be known as the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. On July 25, 1877, twenty thousand people gathered in Tompkins Square Park to hear communist orators speak about revolution, the strike, and the policies of President Hayes. All speeches were repeated in German at a second stand, as the neighborhood had such a large German population at that time. David Conroy, Chairman of the Working Man's Organization in NYC and organizer of the rally, stated that the purpose of the meeting was to harmonize the differences between the strikers and the railroad companies, and to urge the

neg: Empire Transportation Company Company owned. Following this meeting, Standard Oil shut down its Pittsburgh refineries in March 1877, depriving the Pennsylvania Railroad of 65 percent of its oil traffic. A strike in July 1877 destroyed millions of dollars of Pennsylvania Railroad property. In discussions that largely excluded Potts, A.J. Cassatt of the Pennsylvania Railroad and Standard Oil agreed to a sale price of $3,500,000 in October 1877. Empire Transportation Company The Empire Transportation Company was a multimodal freight transportation company founded and operated by Joseph D. Potts in 1865. It owned a small fleet of boats on the Great Lakes which collected grain

neg: Reading Railroad Massacre July 23, militia fired into an unarmed crowd that blocked the trains, and 10 people were killed. U.S. troops reopened the railroad. Reading Railroad Massacre The Reading Railroad Massacre occurred on July 23, 1877, when strikes in Reading, Pennsylvania, led to an outbreak of violence, during which 10 to 16 people were killed and between 20 and 203 were injured. It was the climax of local events during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 towards the end of the Long Depression of 1873–1879, following arson and riots against local facilities of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. Units of the Pennsylvania

neg: Henry M. Mathews coalition of freedmen, carpetbaggers, and scalawags. He was identified as a Redeemer, the southern wing of the Bourbon faction. As governor, his administration sought resolution to the Long Depression, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, and issues of state debt. He was criticized for his handling of the Great Railroad Strike, which spread from West Virginia to several other states before he called for Federal support—an action his critics believed could have prevented the national strike if taken sooner. Mathews retired from politics at the end of his term in 1881. In later life he served as president of the

neg: Scranton general strike Scranton general strike The Scranton general strike was a widespread work stoppage in 1877 by workers in Scranton, Pennsylvania, which took place as part of the Great Railroad Strike, and was the last in a number of violent outbreaks across Pennsylvania. The strike began on July 23 when railroad workers walked off the job in protest of recent wage cuts, and within three days it grew to include perhaps thousands of workers from a variety of industries. Many had returned to work when violence erupted on August 1 after a mob attacked the town's mayor, and then clashed with local

neg: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and Maryland to end the strikes and strife. Three hundred miles to the east, Philadelphia strikers battled local militia and set fire to much of Center City before Pennsylvania Governor John Hartranft gained assistance and federal troops from President Hayes to put down the uprising. Workers in Reading, Pennsylvania's third-largest industrial city at the time, also broke out into a strike. This city was home of the engine works and shops of the Reading Railroad, against which engineers had struck since April 1877. State militia shot 16 citizens. Preludes to the massacre included: fresh work stoppage by all classes of

neg: Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops shops were destroyed. On October 19, 1862, the roundhouse complex was burned by Confederate troops under Colonel Jackson. In 1866, the B&O began reconstruction of the site. From 1866 to 1872, the present roundhouse complex was re-built. Other major buildings that were built at this time were the West Roundhouse, East Roundhouse, Bridge & Machine Shop, and the Frog & Switch Shop. On July 16, 1877, the first nationwide strike, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, began when rail workers at Martinsburg started an action to protest pay cuts. Their work and traffic stoppage soon spread across the country.1 The

neg: History of the United States (1865–1918) under former cigar-makers union official Samuel Gompers, focused on skilled workers. His objectives were "pure and simple": increasing wages, reducing hours, and improving working conditions. As such, Gompers helped turn the labor movement away from the socialist views earlier labor leaders had espoused. The AFL would gradually become a respected organization in the U.S., although it would have nothing to do with unskilled laborers. In times of economic depression, layoffs and wage cuts angered the workers, leading to violent labor conflicts in 1877 and 1894. In the Great Railroad Strike in 1877, railroad workers across the nation went on strike

neg: Reading Railroad Massacre Reading Railroad Massacre The Reading Railroad Massacre occurred on July 23, 1877, when strikes in Reading, Pennsylvania, led to an outbreak of violence, during which 10 to 16 people were killed and between 20 and 203 were injured. It was the climax of local events during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 towards the end of the Long Depression of 1873–1879, following arson and riots against local facilities of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. Units of the Pennsylvania State Militia were brought in by train. Near nightfall, one unit was marched into the Seventh Street Cut, a man-made ravine three

neg: Battle of the Viaduct 100 were wounded, and at least thirteen cops were injured. The New York Times reported rocks flying from workers' hands, police shooting guns and swinging clubs, and 'no less than 10,000 men present … they were bent on violence and hesitated at nothing.'" Battle of the Viaduct The Battle of the Viaduct was an event that took place in Chicago due to a much larger and more prolific event, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. The strike began on July 14, 1877 in Virginia, during a time of great economic woe throughout the country, thus it quickly gained momentum, eventually

neg: History of the socialist movement in the United States the organization of Social Democrats in Sheboygan. He was re-elected alderman in 1898 on the Socialist ticket, along with August L. Mohr, a local baseball manager. Haack served on the city council for sixteen years, advocating for the building of schools and public ownership of utilities. He was recognized as the first socialist officeholder in the United States at the 1932 national Socialist Party convention held in Milwaukee. Generally accepted as the first general strike in the United States, the 1877 St. Louis general strike grew out of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. The general strike was largely organized

neg: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 solidarity with the nearly 1,000 workers on strike. It was a catalyst for labor unrest spreading, with thousands of workers in several industries striking for the eight-hour day and a ban on child labor. This was the first such general strike in the United States. The strike on both sides of the river was ended after the governor appealed for help and gained the intervention of some 3,000 federal troops and 5,000 deputized special police. These armed forces killed at least eighteen people in skirmishes around the city. On July 28, 1877, they took control of the Relay Depot, the

neg: Peter M. Arthur a union and a railroad with the New York Central Railroad of William Henry Vanderbilt. The contract included a guaranteed daily wage. In 1876 the BLE was involved in an unsuccessful strike against the Boston and Maine Railroad. The next year Arthur and the BLE had to deal with the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, in which the BLE allied itself with the Workingmen's Party of the United States. After the collapse of that effort, the BLE became a more restricted organization. Members had to be white, literate, 21 or older and experienced engineers, and from 1885 could not belong

neg: Mathews family (Virginia) Henry M. Mathews (1834–1884) was an attorney general of West Virginia, and governor of West Virginia during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, the first nationwide labor strike. George G. Mathews Jr. (1855–1944), great-grandson of George Mathews, was US Consul at Pará, Brazil, for President Grover Cleveland, and later a Florida state representative. William G. Mathews (1877–1923), son of Henry M. Mathews, was a federal judge and clerk of court for Kanawha, West Virginia. Mason M. Patrick (1863–1942), son of Virginia (Mathews) Patrick, was commander of the U.S. Army Air Service during World War I and the Interwar Period. He

neg: Shamokin, Pennsylvania not develop much until the following 19th century. The discovery of anthracite coal resources in the region, known as "hard coal," became the basis of much industry. Railroad companies, such as Reading Railroad, bought interests in coal and became major employers of the area, building railroads to ship coal to markets and controlling most jobs. Workers gradually organized into unions to develop means of bargaining with these powerful companies. During the nationwide Great Railroad Strike of July 1877, workers in the 1877 Shamokin Uprising at that time marched and demonstrated during the summer period of labor unrest. Shamokin was incorporated

neg: Lackawanna Steel Company flared again in early May, and state troops were once more called to restore order. Within a few days, the strike had largely been broken and most miners returned to work. William Scranton was arrested twice for his role in leading the strikebreakers, but acquitted at trial each time. A second large strike hit the company in 1877. The Long Depression began with the Panic of 1873 and did not end until 1896. By 1877, thousands of miners, steel workers, and railroad employees were out of work and wages had been slashed repeatedly. On July 23, 1877, workers in the

neg: John F. Hartranft early 1870s, resulted in national labor unrest and strikes culminating in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. Serious civil disturbances included riots associated with the railroad and general strikes of 1877 in several industrial cities: including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading and Scranton. There were other incidents with the Molly Maguires in the anthracite coal regions. Hartranft called out the state militia and then Regular Army troops to maintain order. In Philadelphia, Reading, and Pittsburgh, fires were set and extensive railroad facilities and equipment burned, especially in Pittsburgh. Eleven people died along the Schuylkill River before Federal troops restored the peace. Hartranft

neg: History of Plymouth, Pennsylvania of two means of egress from every mine, provision for proper ventilation, reporting and investigation of all accidents and the establishment of rules of conduct for employees. Labor troubles A bank panic on September 18, 1873, led to a prolonged national depression, and by 1877 there were about three million unemployed, roughly 25 percent of the working population. These circumstances led to the outbreak known as the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. It was the first nationwide strike, one in which Plymouth played a small but interesting part. Samuel L. French, Plymouth's Burgess at the time, recalled, "In July, 1877,

neg: Presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes of wrongdoing, Brady and others were indicted for conspiracy in 1882. After two trials, the defendants were found not guilty in 1883. In his first year in office, Hayes was faced with the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, the largest labor disturbance up to that point in U.S. history. In order to make up for financial losses suffered since the Panic of 1873, the major railroads had cut their employees' wages several times. The Pennsylvania Railroad, one of the largest railroads, reduced the average worker's pay by approximately 25% between 1873 and 1877, and the railroad also imposed longer hours

neg: Great Southwest railroad strike of 1886 the great Southwest railroad strike represented the first major defeat sustained by the Knights of Labor. When the strike did not draw the support of the engineers and other industrial workers, the Knights' vision of an industrial union withered as well. Internal conflict broke out between various factions within the Knights, paralyzing the union. The great Southwest railroad strike, the Haymarket affair, and the collapse of the 1887 sugar strikes in Louisiana demoralized the Knights of Labor and energized management. By 1890, membership in the Knights of Labor had plummeted by 90 percent. Employers adopted a model for stamping out

neg: Charles Elliott Perkins for the "Quintuple Contract" collapsed. While Perkins was vice president of the B&MR, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 occurred. Realizing public opinion was against the railroad and that support for the strike was widespread among workers, he shut down the railroad's operations on July 24 and demanded that the system's property be protected by "constitutional authorities". Within two days, public opinion turned against the strikers, and the strike began to collapse when conductors returned to work that day. The fallout of the dispute with the Union Pacific led to a number of changes in the CB&Q. The CB&Q and

neg: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 the railroad's local workforce; mass marches; blocking of rail traffic; and trainyard arson. Workers burned down the only railroad bridge offering connections to the west, in order to prevent local militia from being mustered to actions in the state capital of Harrisburg or Pittsburgh. Authorities used state militia, local police and the Pennsylvania Pinkerton National Detective Agency in an attempt to break the strike. Reading Railroad management mobilized a private militia, which members committed the shootings in the city. This militia was not mobilized by local public officials. On July 25, 1000 men and boys, many of them coal miners,

neg: Labor history of the United States Great Depression would ultimately bring it back to life. The Great Railroad Strike of 1922, a nationwide railroad shop workers strike, began on July 1. The immediate cause of the strike was the Railroad Labor Board's announcement that hourly wages for railway repair and maintenance workers would be cut by seven cents on July 1. This cut, which represented an average 12% wage decrease for the affected workers, prompted a shop workers vote on whether or not to strike. The operators' union did not join in the strike, and the railroads employed strikebreakers to fill three-fourths of the roughly 400,000

neg: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 employer outside of agriculture, required large amounts of capital investment, and thus entailed massive financial risk. Speculators fed large amounts of money into the industry, causing abnormal growth and over-expansion. Jay Cooke's firm, like many other banking firms, invested a disproportionate share of depositors' funds in the railroads, thus paving the way for the ensuing collapse. In addition to Cooke's direct infusion of capital in the railroads, the firm had become a federal agent for the government in the government's direct financing of railroad construction. As building new track in areas where land had not yet been cleared or settled

neg: Long Depression nationwide strike in 1877, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. This led to widespread unrest and often violence in many major cities and industrial hubs including Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading, Saint Louis, Scranton, and Shamokin. The Long Depression contributed to the revival of colonialism leading to the New Imperialism period, symbolized by the scramble for Africa, as the western powers sought new markets for their surplus accumulated capital. According to Hannah Arendt's "The Origins of Totalitarianism" (1951), the "unlimited expansion of power" followed the "unlimited expansion of capital". In the United States, beginning in 1878, the rebuilding, extending, and refinancing

neg: 9th Infantry Regiment (United States) and subsisted on horse flesh and a small quantity of dried meat and fruit captured at Slim Buttes. In October, 1876, the Powder River Expedition was organized and Companies A, B, D, F, I and K formed a part of it. They remained in the field until January 1877, during the most severe part of the winter, and practically brought to a termination the Great Sioux War of 1876. In July 1877, Companies B, D, F, H, I and K were a part of the force sent to Chicago, Illinois, at the time of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.

neg: 1877 Shamokin uprising across America conspired and lowered wages another 10%. Train brakemen and firemen's wages came to $30 per month. When they found out about the wage cuts on July 16, trainmen in Baltimore left work, sparking the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. Before the strikes ended, more than 80,000 trainmen and 500,000 other industrial workers from Boston to Kansas City also went out on strike, although there were not yet official unions. The workers joined in their grievances and the knowledge that the railroads affected everyone. In Pittsburgh on July 21 a National Guard unit from Philadelphia, ordered in by the

neg: Pittsburgh railroad strike of 1877 troops, to move on the outer depot of the Pennsylvania Railroad, where a large mob had gathered, and arrest the group's leaders. At 28th Street, what troops did arrive found a crowd of 2,000, with another 10,000 nearby, along with the two additional regiments of city troops and one battery. Fife's attempts to serve his writs met with derision. He read the Riot Act and the troops set forth attempting to disperse the crowd. Some strikers attempted to wrest the rifles from the soldiers, and one was injured in the advance of bayonets. A cry arose of "Stick to it;

neg: Panic of 1873 of the backbones of the economy, plummeted from 7,500 miles (12,070 km) of track in 1872 to just 1,600 miles (2,575 km) in 1875. 18,000 businesses failed between 1873 and 1875. Unemployment peaked in 1878 at 8.25%. Building construction was halted, wages were cut, real estate values fell and corporate profits vanished. In 1877, steep wage cuts led American railroad workers to launch the Great Railroad Strike. This stopped trains all across the country. President Rutherford B. Hayes sent in federal troops to try to stop this. In July 1877, the market for lumber crashed, leading to several Michigan lumber

neg: Beekman Du Barry On May 1, 1877, he was named Purchasing and Depot Commissary for the depot at New York City, where he served until August 27, 1879. During the nationwide railroad strikes of 1877 that began in July 1877, many state governors attempted to break the strike by calling out state militia. But state militia failed to break the strikes, and in some cases even fraternized with the strikers. Deeply alarmed, President Rutherford B. Hayes ordered U.S. Army troops to break the strike, which ended on September 4. The Army relied heavily on Du Barry, who leapt into action to ensure that

neg: Scranton general strike wage reduction of fifteen percent was made in 1876. Again, efforts to organize a strike were ineffective. By the summer of 1877 tensions were high as news spread of the violence in industrial centers across Pennsylvania and the nation. Making matters worse, the local mining companies had again reduced wages, and railroad and industry owners imposed similar cuts for rail and manufacturing workers. As one observer stated "the great trouble here in Scranton is our population, an excess of miners for the work to be done." On July 23, the workers of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in Scranton

neg: Gilded Age in the industrial cities after 1870. These unions used frequent short strikes as a method to attain control over the labor market, and fight off competing unions. They generally blocked women, blacks and Chinese from union membership, but welcomed most European immigrants. The railroads had their own separate unions. An especially large episode of unrest (estimated at eighty thousand railroad workers and several hundred thousand other Americans, both employed and unemployed) broke out during the economic depression of the 1870s and became known as the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, which was, according to historian Jack Beatty, "the largest strike

neg: Cigar makers strike of 1877 of Labor. By 1873, the United States' economy took a downturn. Misguided investments into areas that proved to yield less profit than anticipated caused banks to default on loans. In the fall of 1873, customers of banks in New York had difficulty withdrawing their money from their banks. In September, one of the most trusted financial institutions in New York, Jay Cooke & Company, failed and caused a panic that spread eventually beyond New York. The financial crisis of the 1870s caused major strikes across all industries. Most notable the great railroad strike of 1877. In her book “Once a

neg: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 prevent a repetition of this chaos. Many states enacted conspiracy statutes. States formed new militia units and constructed National Guard armories in numerous industrial cities. For workers and employers alike, the strikes had shown the power of workers in combination to challenge the status quo. A state militiaman in Pittsburgh, ordered to break the 1877 strike, pointed out that the workers were driven by "one spirit and one purpose among them -– that they were justified in resorting to any means to break down the power of the corporations." Unions became better organized as well as more competent, and the

neg: Martinsburg, West Virginia admitted to the Union during the war. The city of Martinsburg was incorporated by an act of the new West Virginia Legislature on March 30, 1868. Martinsburg became a center of the railroad industry and its workers. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began July 14, 1877 in this city at the B&O shops and spread nationwide. Telephone service was established in Martinsburg in 1883. In 1889, electricity began to be furnished to Martinsburg as part of a franchise granted to the United Edison Manufacturing Company of New York. The Interwoven mills began operations in Martinsburg in 1891; it grew

neg: Brakemen's Brotherhood Brakemen's Brotherhood The Brakemen's Brotherhood was an early American railroad brotherhood established in 1873. The group was a secret society organizing locomotive brakemen into a fraternal benefit society and trade union. The organization was largely destroyed in the aftermath of the failed Great Railroad Strike of 1877, although it continued to maintain some sort of existence on the Erie Railroad through the middle 1880s. Although there are some reports of an earlier union of railroad brakemen from the summer of 1869, the Brakemen's Brotherhood is the earliest documented railway brotherhood organizing railroad brakemen. The Brakemen's Brotherhood was formally established in

neg: Scranton general strike Strike of 1877 and the 1902 Anthracite Strike. In 2008 the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission placed a historical marker commemorating the 1877 strike in Scranton. The inscription reads: A riot occurred here on August 1, 1877, in which armed citizens fired upon strikers, killing four. Many were injured, including Scranton's mayor. As in numerous US cities, this labor unrest was a result of the US depression of 1873 and a nationwide railroad strike in 1877. Following the uprising, prominent figures in Scranton began advocating for a permanent militia, and within a week nearly a thousand dollars were raised to

neg: Baltimore railroad strike of 1877 have gained absolutely nothing by the movement. The ten per cent reduction has been enforced by the four trunk lines, and the only concessions were those that might have been had for asking, without the loss of a single day's work. Such of the strikers as were caught committing criminal acts are now under arrest, and the great majority of the rest are most anxious to resume their places. Some of the railroad companies have discharged every man that took part in the strike, while others have only dropped the ringleaders, and have held out inducements to the others to

neg: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 24, rail traffic in Chicago was paralyzed when angry mobs of unemployed citizens wreaked havoc in the rail yards, shutting down both the Baltimore and Ohio and the Illinois Central railroads. Soon, other railroads throughout the state were brought to a standstill, with demonstrators shutting down railroad traffic in Bloomington, Aurora, Peoria, Decatur, Urbana and other rail centers throughout Illinois. In sympathy, coal miners in the pits at Braidwood, LaSalle, Springfield, and Carbondale went on strike as well. In Chicago, the Workingmen's Party organized demonstrations that drew crowds of 20,000 people. Judge Thomas Drummond of the United States Court of

neg: Police brutality 18th century France, with modern police departments being established in most nations by the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Cases of police brutality appear to have been frequent then, with "the routine of citizens by patrolmen armed with nightsticks or blackjacks". Large-scale incidents of brutality were associated with labor strikes, such as the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, the Pullman Strike of 1894, the Lawrence textile strike of 1912, the Ludlow massacre of 1914, the Steel strike of 1919, and the Hanapepe massacre of 1924. Portions of the populations may perceive the police to be oppressors. In addition, there is

neg: Amasa Stone directors (which did not include Stone) was installed, but the railroad's history is unclear after this. Stone began to suffer from undisclosed major health problems in the spring of 1875, and he and his wife went to Europe for 18 months beginning in late 1875. This event largely sparked Stone's retirement from most of his business ventures. While overseas, he left the management of his enterprises in the hands of his son-in-law, John Hay. During his absence, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 occurred, hitting his railroads hard. While Stone was overseas in 1876, one of the greatest events in

neg: Chicago railroad strike of 1877 and Chicago & Alton, and as they went the strike spread with them. By noon only a single railroad, the Chicago and Northwestern, had any traffic in or out of the city, but it too would be forced to close by the end of the day. Others, a crowd of 500 not affiliated with the railroads, marched through the streets of the lumber yards and planing mills, demanding that those there quit work, which many did. This continued until all types of industry was idle throughout the city, some for the striking of the men, and others shuttered by their

neg: Defenders Day and Fort McHenry during the 1814 Battle of Baltimore. Nativism returned with the Confederate veterans after the Civil War. After the Civil War the militia in Baltimore was divided between Union veterans and initially illegal militias of Confederate veterans. Prior to the 1877 riots the Confederate militia was legalized as the 5th Maryland. Baltimore's militia on the eve of the nationwide labor strife and riots in July 1877, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was composed of the 4th, 5th and 6th Maryland militia regiments. The former Confederate 5th Maryland being drawn from veterans of the 1st Maryland C.S.A., the

neg: Pittsburgh railroad strike of 1877 the mob from accessing the burning railroad facilities. By the time the Allegheny fire department (then a separate jurisdiction) was dispatched to cross the river and ensure the flames passed no further than Seventh Street, a full stretch of the city, between the river and Middle Hill, was burning. The disturbance spread north across the river, in the town of Allegheny, where employees of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railroad voted to strike. They asserted that the assembled militias had no authority (the governor being out of state), raided the local armory, and set up patrols and armed guards

neg: Great Railroad Strike of 1922 Great Railroad Strike of 1922 The Great Railroad Strike of 1922, commonly known as the Railway Shopmen's Strike, was a nationwide strike of railroad workers in the United States. Launched on July 1, 1922, by seven of the sixteen railroad labor organizations in existence at the time, the strike continued into the month of August before collapsing. At least ten people, most of them strikers or family members, were killed in connection with the strike. The collective action of some 400,000 workers in the summer of 1922 was the largest railroad work stoppage since the American Railway Union's Pullman Strike

neg: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 established the Baltimore and Ohio Employees' Relief Association, which provided coverage for sickness, injury from accidents, and a death benefit. In 1884, the B&O became the first major employer to offer a pension plan. Attempts to utilize local militia to quell violent outbreaks in 1877 highlighted their ineffectiveness, and in some cases their propensity to outright side with strikers and rioters. In response, as earlier riots in the mid 1800s had prompted the modernization of police forces, the violence of 1877 provided the impetus for the formation of the modern National Guard, "to aid the civil officers, to suppress or

neg: Philip Van Patten of the new organization. Chosen to be the Party's leader at the age of 24, Van Patten continued to lead the party until 1883. Van Patten attributed his own rise to Party leadership to "the difficulty in getting anyone who could write correct English," due to the fact that the party consisted largely of German immigrants. A great railroad strike erupted in the Eastern United States in 1877, spreading West to the working class center of Chicago, where it was conducted directly by the National Executive Committee of the NEC. Chief among the leaders of this Chicago organization were National

neg: John Rogers (baseball) the quelling of the Pittsburgh riots during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. Rogers was later appointed Judge Advocate General of the Philadelphia National Guard, with the rank of colonel. A prominent attorney and politician in Philadelphia, Rogers came to the baseball business when former player and sporting goods magnate Al Reach consulted with him on a patent for a baseball. Rogers and Reach later teamed up to acquire the remnants of the Worcester Worcesters in 1883, winning the rights to the franchise via drawing of lots. Reach and Rogers relocated the franchise to Philadelphia, where they became known as

neg: Railway surgery from all employees, except Chinese employees, who were excluded from the service. A different kind of arrangement was the mutual benefit society. The first of these was set up by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1880 following the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. Other railroads started to follow this model, partly because of its effect of dampening industrial strife. By World War I about 30% (around two million) of railroad workers were members. By 1896 there were twenty-five railway hospitals run by thirteen different railway companies. Between them they treated 165,000 patients annually. Some of these hospitals became important

neg: Pittsburgh railroad strike of 1877 set off popular disorder." On September 23, 1997, a historical marker was placed at the corner of 28th Street and Liberty in Pittsburgh, commemorating the location of the July 21, 1877 shootings in connection with the strike and ensuing riots. The inscription reads: In July, unrest hit US rail lines. Pennsylvania Railroad workers struck to resist wage and job cuts. Here, on July 21, militia fatally shot some twenty six people. A battle followed; rail property was burned. The strike was finally broken by US Troops. Additional historical markers can be found at: Former historical markers were located at: Pittsburgh

neg: History of Pennsylvania to a rise of union busting, with several private police forces springing up. Pennsylvania was the location of the first documented organized strike in North America, and Pennsylvania experienced the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and the Coal Strike of 1902. Eventually, the eight-hour day was adopted, and the "coal and iron police" were banned. During this period, the United States was the destination of millions of immigrants. Previous immigration had mostly come from western and northern Europe, but during this period Pennsylvania experienced heavy immigration from southern and eastern Europe. As many new immigrants were Catholic and Jewish, they

neg: Great Railroad Strike of 1922 the local level. The often-unpalatable concessions, coupled with memories of the violence and tension during the strike, soured relations between the railroads and the shopmen for quite some time. Great Railroad Strike of 1922 The Great Railroad Strike of 1922, commonly known as the Railway Shopmen's Strike, was a nationwide strike of railroad workers in the United States. Launched on July 1, 1922, by seven of the sixteen railroad labor organizations in existence at the time, the strike continued into the month of August before collapsing. At least ten people, most of them strikers or family members, were killed in

neg: Baltimore railroad strike of 1877 burned, including more than a thousand rail cars destroyed. What began as the peaceful actions of organized labor attracted the masses of discontented and unemployed workers spawned by the depression, along with others who took opportunistic advantage of the chaos. In total, an estimated 100,000 workers participated nationwide. State and federal troops followed the turmoil as it spread along the rail lines from city to city, beginning in Baltimore, where the movement of troops itself provoked a violent response that ultimately required federal intervention to quell. In early July 1877, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) announced it would reduce

neg: Baltimore railroad strike of 1877 cars sat idle. That day, "The Sun" reported the situation in the city: One by one the shops have become wholly or partly silent, and very many men, especially in South Baltimore, are without work or the means of providing for their families. This state of affairs is confined not alone to railroad shops, but to other workshops, and a great deal of distress exists among the workingmen of all kinds. On July 18, the railroad strikers in Baltimore printed and circulated a list of their grievances: They had submitted to three reductions of wages in three years; that they

neg: Pittsburgh railroad strike of 1877 same. By midnight, up to 1,400 strikers had gathered in the Pennsylvania Railroad rail yards, which were located on the flats southeast of the Allegheny River, stopping the movement of some 1,500 cars. The lieutenant governor, through General Albert Pearson, ordered the 6th Division 18th Regiment of the Pennsylvania National Guard from Philadelphia, to assemble to support the sheriff. According to the later testimony of a railroad official, Pearson commented that he believed he could have retaken the station with these available forces, but that it would have resulted in a great loss of life, and he was therefore reluctant

neg: Great Railroad Strike of 1877 on other railroad lines. Workers in the cities in industries other than railroads still attacked them because of how they cut through the cities and dominated city life. Their resentment of the railroads' economic power was expressed in physical attacks against them at a time when many workers' wages were lowered. Protestors "included cross-class elements from other work sites, small businesses, and commercial establishments. Some protestors acted out of solidarity with the strikers, but many more vented militant displeasure against dangerous railroad traffic that crisscrossed urban centers in that area." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania became the site of the worst violence of

neg: Baltimore railroad strike of 1877 the wages of all workers by ten percent. One hundred miles would constitute a day's work, and crews would not receive allowances for time spent on delays at stations. Various meetings of railroad employees followed, and a committee was formed to meet with officers of the railroad. They appealed to the vice president, Mr. King, but he declined to meet. Most workers accepted the reduction in pay, but the firemen and those who ran the freight trains resolved to stop work in protest. The number of unemployed along the line was so great, owing to the ongoing economic problems, that

neg: Pittsburgh railroad strike of 1877 crowded, and the wildest rumors prevailed. When the news reached the large number of rolling-mill hands and workmen in the various shops of the city, they were excited to frenzy, and by eight o'clock the streets of the central portion of the city were alive with them. A large crowd broke into the manufactory of the Great Western Gun-Works, and captured 200 rifles and a quantity of small-arms, and various other crowds sacked all the other places in the city where arms were exposed for sale, getting about 300 more. Among them were 1000 mill hands from Birmingham, on the

neg: Richard C. Drum District to August 1, 1868, and Department of the South, headquarters Atlanta, Georgia from March 20, 1868 to March 20, 1869, and from April 3, 1869 to November 26, 1873 for the Military Department of the Atlantic. Drum was promoted to Colonel in February 22, 1869. He was again made Assistant Adjutant-General, for the Military Division of the Missouri, in Chicago from November 28, 1873 to May 2, 1878, where he commanded the Federal troops in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. He then served until retirement in the Adjutant Generals office in Washington D. C. On June 16, 1880,